The Chosen One
by blueenvelopes
Summary: "Everything in your life up until now has been a lie." "Are you really my father?" "Yes." "Where is my mother?" "In a cell where she belongs." "Can I see her?" "No. It's better this way for you. And . . . for me." This story is the continuation of my Reylo Dark AU fic Ghosts of the Past. Emperor Kylo Ren now rules the galaxy and that's far harder than he thought it would be.
1. Chapter 1

The headmaster is a patient looking man in his late middle years. This educator's demeanor is fatherly, even if it can be somewhat formal at times. Not today. He has come out from behind his massive desk for this conversation. He leans back against it now with his arms crossed, looking down at the bruised student who sits in the hot seat before him.

"Titus, your mother will be here soon. But let's you and I take this time to have a chat man to man, shall we?"

The sullen youth doesn't respond.

"Son, I know that you're new to us and that you are new to an all-male learning environment. We expect an adjustment period for new students. And here at this school, we cut boys some slack. We understand high spirits and we tolerate some aggression. It's natural in a growing boy. But we will not tolerate a repeat of today. Have I made myself clear?"

"They started it."

"I realize that. But you had a choice of whether to engage or not. Learn to pick your battles more wisely." The headmaster wags a finger and shakes his head in reproof. "Fighting boys four years your senior is not a wise move. You're lucky you weren't badly hurt."

"I won, didn't I?"

"Fighting should be the last resort, not the first one."

The boy smirks. "This is a military academy, isn't it? I thought fighting was your thing."

The headmaster ignores this sarcasm. "Our academy has a long and proud tradition of raising boys to go on to all sorts of careers. These days, most of our graduates go on to university, not the military. Quite a few go on to be business leaders like your father." The headmaster leans forward now over his surly pupil. "Cade Biggs did not become CEO of Kuat by picking fights and brawling with his colleagues. Learn from your father's example. He is an excellent role model."

The boy looks unimpressed by this admonishment. But the headmaster is experienced with this sort of thing, so he continues. "Titus, I want you to go home tonight and talk to your father about what happened today. Ask him how he would have handled the situation. Can you do that for me?"

"Dad's away on business. I think. He's always away."

"He's a busy man with important work to do. Titus, that will be you one day if you work hard and stay focused." The older man thinks a moment. "If your father is gone, then perhaps your mother can advise you. Can you talk to your mother?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Mom hates fighting. She gets really angry about fighting. She says fighting is rarely the answer."

"She is right," the headmaster agrees. "Violence tends to cause more problems than it solves." The older man looks the boy over a moment. "Titus Biggs, you are fortunate to live in a time of relative peace. Your parents and I did not enjoy that experience. I recall your mother's accent from when we met. She's from Coruscant, right?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. Then perhaps that explains why your mother has strong views against fighting. Was she there during the siege?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Mom never talks about the war."

"Then take it from me, son. War is an ugly thing."

"Whatever. War is good for Dad's business. Dad loves business."

"He loves you too, I'm sure," the older man says gently.

The boy looks away. "I guess."

"Ah, here is your mother." The headmaster pushes off the desk to stand erect. He shoots a prodding look at the boy who reluctantly now also climbs to his feet. The older man's smile is a little tight as he welcomes the newcomer. "Mrs. Biggs, do come in. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Please, call me Rey."


	2. Chapter 2

Rey looks up at the sound of the front door opening. She's in the kitchen with the domestic droid prepping for dinner, taking out her frustrations vigorously chopping vegetables. It hasn't been the best day. "Sasha, is that you?" Rey calls, wiping her hands on an apron as she heads out from the kitchen.

"It's me, Rey." A rich baritone answers her call from the foyer of the rambling apartment. The Biggs family lives in the penthouse apartment of the best building on Kuat.

"Oh. Cade, you're home early," Rey smiles at the weary looking man who is hanging up his coat and dropping his travel case. Cade Biggs is a handsome dark-skinned man in his fifties with close-cropped curly salt and pepper hair and a matching beard. "I thought you had a dinner meeting with the Chairman tonight."

"His transport was delayed. We've rescheduled for a breakfast meeting before the regular Board meets." Her husband drops his datapad on the table and wanders over for a perfunctory kiss. Then he follows Rey back into the kitchen. "Something smells good. What's for dinner? I'm starved."

"It's a new recipe." Rey frowns a moment. "I hope there's enough. I thought you would be eating out."

Cade laughs as he peeks over her shoulder at the collection of pots and pans behind her. "Rey, you cook for an army. There's never a chance that there's not enough."

"I just don't want anyone to go hungry," she says defensively. "No one should ever go hungry."

"Trust me," Cade grins as he pats at his midsection. "That's not a risk. Where is everyone?"

Rey turns back to her chopping. "Sasha should be home any minute. She's at band practice. Malia is with the rest of her girl gang hanging out. Titus is upstairs. Grounded."

"Uh oh, I know that look. What'd our boy do this time?"

"Fighting. Again. I was up at school today. Cade, the headmaster was very polite. But he was also very clear that he will not tolerate fighting."

Biggs sighs. "So how much is this going to cost me? Do I have to buy another table at the school auction? How much to get back into their good graces?"

Rey puts down her knife and turns around. She gives her husband a level look. "This isn't funny, Cade. And money won't fix this. That boy has been through three schools in five years. He needs to shape up! We can't go through life making excuses for him and buying him out of problems." Rey looks away in frustration. "I wish he were more like your girls . . . "

"I know," Cade commiserates. "Did he start it this time?"

"No. The other kids did."

"Kids? So this wasn't one on one?"

"It was three on one. The other boys were sixteen."

"So these older kids were picking on Titus? Were they bullying him?"

"Maybe. I don't know. No one had their story straight and I think the older boys were embarrassed to have lost." Rey reaches to stir a pot before turning back around. "Cade, one of the older boys has a broken arm."

"Oh." Her husband frowns. "That's not good."

"It gets worse. The boy with the broken arm is Senator Trudow's youngest."

"Fuck," Biggs swears under his breath. "Trudow is on Appropriations. We need his support for our contract renewal. Fuck, this is bad timing. The vote is in two weeks."

"I already sent an apology over to Trudow's wife. She told me the arm is a basic fracture that will heal in a week. We're paying the medic bills, of course. But you should probably put in a call to the Senator tomorrow to grovel."

"Fuck," Biggs swears softly again. "It sounds like this was a pretty vicious fight. Why does our son always manage to get himself into these situations?" he complains.

Rey supplies the answer: "Because Titus has a temper and he never walks away from a fight."

"Yeah . . . he's scrappy for such a skinny thing. At least it sounds like he held his own. That's my boy."

"Cade, that's not a helpful attitude." Rey is irritated. That sort of machismo is the wrong message, she thinks. "Fighting doesn't solve problems. Titus needs to learn that. When he's running a business or working a job someday, he's going to have to get along with people. Even people he doesn't like. Will you talk to him? The headmaster thought it might help if you talked to him. You know, father to son."

"Yeah, I'll talk to him. Where is he?"

"In his room doing homework."

Cade grunts. "He's probably messaging his friends."

"I wish," Rey sighs heavily. "Titus doesn't have any friends. If he did, that might help." She looks away now, troubled as always by her son's inability to fit in. "I hate that he is alone so much. He's surrounded by people but he's always alone. No child should be alone."

"He's not alone. He has two sisters and us," Cade reminds her. "And friends at this age are easy come, easy go. One minute you're BFFs, the next minute you hate each other."

"He's got too much of his father in him," Rey says quietly, thinking of another anti-social loner guy she once knew. Rey meets her husband's eyes. "That's what I'm afraid of, Cade. That Titus will turn out angry and violent just like his father did."

"Hey now, don't cry." Cade steps closer to put his arms around her. "Give Titus some time. He's just a twelve-year-old kid. And he's half you, Rey. That's gotta count for something. I've never known you to raise your voice, let alone hit anyone. I'll talk to Titus and I'll call the Senator and we'll fix this." Cade pulls back and smiles encouragingly down at her. "Are you ready for some good news?"

"Yes, please," Rey musters a smile.

"I'm on the Chancellor's List this year."

Rey blinks. "Really?" She hadn't known this was in the works.

"Yes. Yours truly is being honored by the Senate Chancellor for distinguished service to the Empire."

"Wow, Cade, that's fantastic news!" Rey gives him a big bear hug. "When does this happen?"

"Next month in Coruscant. But it's being announced next week. The company is doing a press release. It's perfect timing in advance of the Senate Appropriations Committee vote on the contract renewals. Go buy a new dress, babe. A fancy court dress. Because there's a dinner in the Senate Rotunda to celebrate."

Oh. Rey's eyes narrow and her smile fades. "Cade, you know I don't go to Coruscant—"

"Don't start with that, Rey," Cade brushes off her objection. "This is important. Look, I know you are worried about the past but Hassan died over ten years ago. And what are the chances that the Chancellor and his wife remember you?"

"They will remember me." Rey had lived with the Flick family for months, although Cade Biggs doesn't know that.

"And so what if they do? Sayeed Hassan is dead. Rey, the First Order has no issues with you. You were never arrested for anything. It was your ex's personal grudge."

Not exactly. Rey starts to object again, "But—"

"Come on, it's not like you don't see military types regularly. General Kaplan is on our board and you see him all the time. Along with a dozen other majors and colonels in the procurement group."

Yes, but General Kaplan had been promoted off the _Finalizer_ long before the Coruscant Siege. Kaplan had never crossed paths with Rey in her past life. He had never met Princess Renata Palpatine.

Cade gives her a cajoling smile. "This is a big deal, Rey. Do it for me?" he wheedles, flashing his bright white teeth that are such a contrast against his mahogany skin.

Normally, that sort of appeal melts Rey's heart. But after the day she's had and given this specific issue, Rey is not in the mood to argue right now. As far as she's concerned, this is non-negotiable. "Look, Cade, we've been over this before. I go to dinners, I host parties, I attend ship christenings, and I hang out with the spouses, I do what is expected of Mrs. Cade Biggs. But I do not go to Coruscant. That's the inner circle of the Empire and there are too many people who might remember me from the war. And that would endanger Titus. I don't need Sayeed Hassan's family showing up to contest your adoption."

And now Cade too is annoyed. "Hasan is dead, Rey. You're being irrational."

Not really, but Cade doesn't know that. Rey is feeling threatened and now her tone is strident. Very unlike her normal self. "And what if I am! He tried to kill me and Titus! That's worth being irrational about!"

"I thought you would be happy for me," her husband says stiffly. "This is a big honor. Ten people a year get this honor in the whole galaxy. Ten people! And in my line of work, relations with the top military brass matter. You know that. This honor is like a stamp of approval for me and the Company. Kuat will be the Empire's preferred provider again next year for sure now." He shoots Rey a reproachful look. "There's a chance we might even get to meet the Emperor. The protocol office told my assistant that Kylo Ren himself sometimes makes a quick meet and greet appearance at this event."

And now there's no chance that Rey is going to this dinner. She turns away back to her cooking. This conversation is over as far as she's concerned. "Dinner will be ready in half an hour."

"Yeah, okay. I guess I'll go talk to Titus." Cade shoots her a look. "At least he'll be happy for me." Her husband tromps away and Rey follows him with her eyes, knowing she has hurt his feelings. She and Cade rarely bicker, so this tiff was the exception rather than the rule. Rey feels badly about it. She prides herself on her happy, conflict-free marriage.

Turning back to her pots, Rey starts stirring furiously. No ever tells you how hard midlife is, she thinks. Shit gets real in these years. Whether it's career matters or family matters, you're in the game and playing for keeps at this point. Because when you are the responsible one at the office or at home or maybe both, you have to make the decisions and then follow through on them. And the consequences are daunting. Screw up your marriage and your whole family suffers. Screw up your kids and you have a lifetime of guilt ahead of you. Screw up your career and you can't pay your bills and taxes. Plus, there is never any end to the work to be done. Just when you've got it under control and you know that the class fieldtrip is next week and the annual report will be filed in two days, someone calls and wants you to volunteer for yet another project. Or maybe grandpa gets sick and now you are managing his care. Or you wreck the speeder. Or a pipe bursts and floods your home and now you have a major remodeling project to add to your to do list. Yep, all this adulting is hard.

At thirty-four, Rey Biggs is in the trenches of family life. Step-mother to two teenage girls and mother to a twelve-year-old son. Wife to a prominent, wealthy man who is rarely home and always stressed. It's a wonderful, frenetic and luxurious life all in all. And it's a far cry from her secret past on Jakku. These days, her problems are Core World problems and she tries to keep it all in perspective. But that doesn't make it easy. Especially, when you are protecting a very big lie.

It's cliché but true, motherhood is the hardest job in the world. Most days, Rey feels like a combination of traffic cop and nag. She's directing kids from one activity to the next, remembering deadlines for summer camp signups, lacrosse team tryouts, and college admissions prep classes. Trying to keep track of the ever-changing set of friends, enemies and frenemies for two teenaged girls. Most days, she nags about everything from homework to hygiene to nutrition. Determined to give her kids the loving, supportive guidance and stable home life she herself never had. She's a bit manic about that, Rey knows. But she can't help it. It's too important to her that her family have everything she never had.

But more and more, Rey worries that she has completely miscalculated the risks for her kids. Rey's own experience has her obsessed with nurturing, focused on education, and more than a little regimented about food and rest. Has she gone overboard overcompensating for her own insecurities? Because the kids seem far less independent than she was at half their ages. And all her drive to provide the best of everything for them seems to have made them a bit lazy. Worse still, she fears they are very entitled. Rey isn't not blind to how the world works. Thanks to their father's wealth and position, the Biggs kids will have opportunities other kids won't even try to aspire to. In many ways, their future comfort and success is largely ensured already. Likely, it was ensured for Sasha and Malia the day each was born. And for Titus? Well, that's a little different. But so long as her secret son remains safely hidden, he too will have all the advantages and protections Cade Biggs can provide.

Cade plods back into the kitchen now with Titus bringing up the rear. Rey looks her son over critically. He still looks black and blue. "Titus, go put another bacta patch on your chin," she decides. "That cut will be gone by morning if you keep a patch on it."

"Not now, Mom," her boy complains.

And now Cade speaks sharply to him. "Do as your mother asks, Titus. Remember how we talked about showing respect to grownups?" This is Cade Biggs the family man. Patient but firm. Always loving. Yes, he's gone a lot on business. But when he is home, he is an excellent father. And while he is not Titus' biological father, never once has that ever seemed to matter. For that and for so much else, Rey will be eternally grateful. Suddenly, she feels worse than ever about not going to Coruscant to celebrate her husband's big achievement.

"Alright." The youth shuffles away, looking a little stiff. That's probably from the fight, Rey realizes. She can still remember what it felt like to be black and blue all over after a fight on Jakku. Except she didn't have a comfy bed to rest in and a box of bacta patches to apply.

"Did you get through to him?" she asks her husband softly when the boy is out of earshot.

"I think so. I hope so. Rey, he's a good kid. Don't lose sight of that."

Rey nods her agreement but her heart isn't in it. Because while she loves her son dearly, she fears for him. More and more, Titus reminds Rey of his father. His true father. And that scares her. Would Kylo Ren be able to reach him? Would he understand Titus better than she and Cade? Rey doesn't know. And she can't ever risk finding out. Because her troubled pre-teen is a secret Skywalker, a kid who unbeknownst to anyone but her is full of the Force. And that Force is mostly Dark. It worries her.

"Rey," Cade's voice snaps her out of her reverie. "Look, I'm fine if you don't come to Coruscant for the dinner. I'm sorry if I was insensitive earlier. I know it upsets you to think of the past."

"You never really get over the past," Rey says softly. It's the truth. She has spent the last thirteen years trying to hide from Kylo and to transcend Jakku. But one stupid move like showing up at this Coruscant dinner could ruin it all. Normally, she's not so inflexible with her husband, but when it comes to Coruscant there is no compromise in Rey.

Cade keeps trying to make amends. He obviously knows that he's touched a raw nerve. "I tell you what, Rey. I'm going to have the government relations team send over one of your replica ships to the Chancellor's office. We'll deliver it along with your regrets for the dinner. I'm sure you're not the first spouse who has been unable to attend." Cade leans over to kiss her on the cheek now. "Are we good?"

"Yes, we're good," she smiles in relief. Then the door sounds again and in saunter the oldest Biggs kids. "Perfect timing, girls," Rey smiles. "Go wash up. We're about to sit down to dinner."


	3. Chapter 3

_We need to talk._ _There's something you need to see_.

The message from Nestor arrives in the middle of dinner.

 _Now?_

 _Yes._ _I'm on the back landing pad._

That peculiar location piques his interest. So Kylo rises from his table and plods through his palace to meet his Senate Chancellor and longtime friend. It's afterhours and the public rooms are closed, so he dispenses with the mask and cape. But he takes the sword. Kylo Ren always takes his sword. He also takes the new girl. Kylo saunters up to Nestor with his latest beauty at his side. She's a brunette, like always, and jaw-droppingly gorgeous. But Nestor Flick ignores her completely and that in itself is a telltale sign. His friend seems nervous as they approach and that's also highly unusual.

"Boss," Nestor nods respectfully and Kylo watches him visibly swallow. That's sufficient anxiety now for Kylo to dismiss his girl. Because whatever this is, it's important enough to unsettle the unflappable Nestor Flick.

Kylo leans in now to whisper softly in the new girl's ear. What was her name again? He forgets. He'll have to ask Milo tomorrow. "Go finish your dinner and wait for me in bed."

"Yes, Excellency." Gracefully, his beauty curtsies and bows her head in the traditional court obeisance. Then in a whisper of silk robes and a waft of perfume, she is gone. He and Nestor are alone.

"Come. I've got something for you to see," his Chancellor tells him and the two men begin walking across the giant landing platform.

Nestor Flick has been Senate Chancellor for well over a decade now, but when the work day is done Nestor likes to shed his stately robes for the standard issue fatigues and boots he's worn since he was a First Order recruit. His friend's blonde hair has gone mostly grey these days but it's still buzzed short and neat, giving him the unmistakable stamp of a military man. Nestor hasn't lost his habit of weightlifting to blow off steam either, so he's still far more muscled than the average man. But the former Second Knight has lost the ridiculously Herculean bulk that had characterized him during those brutal war years. Walking beside him now, Nestor Flick looks like some enlisted man who rose through the ranks, like some veteran everyman NCO of the First Order, and not the second-in-command of the Empire. This man's genuine lack of pretension is what makes him so relatable, Kylo knows. And that is a large part of what makes Chancellor Flick so effective. People like him and trust him.

Nestor is not the only one who's a little changed through the years, not that the galaxy at large can tell beneath the Emperor's iconic mask. At forty-five, Kylo Ren still has wild, thick hair but now his mane is greying a bit at the temples. He has squint lines about his eyes and the slight scar his uncle gave him has become a bit more pronounced. But all in all, like Nestor, Kylo thinks himself not much changed in appearance. All the real changes, he knows, are invisible to the eye.

The two men walk up on a strange sight parked at the far end of the crowded landing platform. It's a mid-sized, seed-shaped vessel that was an uncommon sight even back in its production heyday a century ago. Kylo immediately starts pacing the craft's perimeter for a better look. He notes the distinctive propulsion system on the back. It launches a parachute that deploys when the craft flies at sub-light speed. It is a very specialized and distinguishing feature. "This is a solar sailor," Kylo concludes. He's impressed. You don't see one of these ships every day.

Nestor nods. "Isn't it something? I knew you would love it since it's Clone Wars era. They were originally Geonosian, right?"

"Yes," Kylo answers although he notices that this ship has the distinctive Kuat KDY logo on the back. "Count Dooku flew one of these swoops. Where did you get this? It looks brand new."

"It is brand new. Kuat sent it over. Their CEO is on the Senate Honors List this year. I got this by way of a thank you. It's yours, if you want it. Sounds like it should be yours if it's a Sith's ship."

"Nah . . . this sort of thing belongs in a museum somewhere. It's too valuable to fly." Kylo is still busy giving the unique craft a thorough once over. He's Han Solo's son, like it or not, and he appreciates a good starship. But is this why Nestor called him away from dinner? No, it can't be. Because there's no reason to be nervous about a gift like this. Kylo glances back at his old friend and sees that he is sweating now. Yes, something is definitely up and this isn't it.

"Actually, this ship is not original," his friend informs him. "Kylo, take a look at this." Nestor hands him a datapad and it plays a short and slick promotional video. It is a voiceover of a montage of images showing design and construction of the solar sailor replica they stand beneath.

 _Kuat Drive Yards presents the Rey Series._ _For the discriminating collector who appreciates quality craftsmanship and vintage design._ _These modern replica spacecrafts embody the glamour of the past while possessing today's state of the art technology._ _Rey Series crafts are a perfect marriage of old and new, representing the best, most noteworthy achievements in ship design and mechanics through the years._ _These luxury ships are the perfect addition to your personal fleet, meeting all current safety standards and regulations for recreational use._ _We release one model per year of these limited edition, much coveted items._ _Last year's Naboo N-1 Starfighter had a waiting list five times the production volume._ _Act quickly and you too can turn heads when you next arrive at the local spaceport . . ._

Rey Series? That's an unfortunate name, Kylo thinks. Although the girl he now thinks of would have loved this sort of thing. The Sith glances over at the beautiful vintage ship and decides that he doesn't like it after all. And, all things considered, he wishes the Kuat guy had sent over one of last year's model Naboo Starfighters like his grandfather had once used. Because that ship Kylo would definitely have kept.

The Sith turns back to the datapad and scrolls down a bit through the stats and information. "Geez, look at the price on it," Kylo smirks. "They're not giving them away. Still, they should give us a freebie every year for the amount we've spent at Kuat since the war. Those guys are as mercenary as the Hutts." He makes to hand the datapad back to Nestor but his friend refuses it.

"You missed it." Nestor is at his side again, poking at the datapad to make the video replay. "Look again around the 8 second mark of the video. If you blink, you'll miss her."

"Miss who?"

"Just look."

Kylo does and he sees nothing of note. "What am I looking at?"

"This." Nestor pulls up a still frame from the advertising video showing a man and a woman in Kuat hardhats and large, thick-rimmed safety glasses. The pair are conferring over some design schematic. "Her." Nestor points to the woman.

She is shown in profile. Blonde and young with a ponytail trailing over her shoulder. Kylo looks again. No, he doesn't recognize her. Should he?

Nestor doesn't seem surprised by this reaction. "Yeah, I didn't see it at first either but Cesi did right away. She even pulled some old pictures for me later that night. For kicks, I ran them by the intel guys. Kylo, the facial recognition software marked a 98% positive identification."

"What are you telling me?" Kylo's not getting it, whatever it is. But he is suddenly feeling nervous too. Maybe Nestor's mood is rubbing off on him. "Spit it out," he orders. Enough with the preamble to this mystery.

"Here." Nestor pulls up the intel analysis comparing the still frame of the blonde woman side by side with a years old picture of Rey. Rey had been snapped with the much younger Flick girls in her lap. She must have turned to react to something because Rey is presented in profile, much like the woman in the still frame. And now, Kylo realizes why Nestor seems so jumpy.

"It's her," his friend says softly. "It's Rey."

"She's alive." Kylo is blinking fast and sweating now. Because this feels like seeing a Force ghost. Only this is no vision, this is real. This woman is real. "She's alive . . . "

"Alive and well and blonde these days. Boss, I had to know more. So I told the intel guys to start digging. See for yourself." Nestor pokes at the datapad again and hands it back. "Start swiping." Kylo does. And he gets an eyeful. It's picture after picture of blonde Rey living and working on Kuat.

"She's Renata Biggs now, married to Cade Biggs, the CEO of Kuat. That's him there—the distinguished looking black guy. She's his second wife. His first marriage ended in divorce. Those teenagers in the pictures are his kids from his first marriage."

"How did you figure this out?" Kylo wonders aloud.

"Boss, I liked the ship. When it was delivered, I asked the Kuat guy where the name Rey Series came from. He told me these replicas were the brainchild of the CEO's wife. It was a hobby of hers that the company decided to produce as a small specialty line. It was crazy, I know, but it got me wondering. So my assistant pulled all the information on Biggs from the Honors List files and it had the name of his wife. Renata. I told Cesi about that coincidence and we watched the video together and it just went on from there."

This is no coincidence, Kylo knows. This is the Force. "She's alive," he repeats in disbelief.

"These days, she sits on the board of the Kuat charitable foundation and a few other local charities. She manages the household and the kids. And she consults and tinkers on these replica ships for Kuat." Nestor starts narrating as Kylo keeps flipping through pictures. "She keeps a low social profile for being Biggs' wife. She doesn't pose much for party pictures, but the guys found her in the background of a few snaps." Yes, he sees. There are several pictures of Rey all dressed up at fancy parties. Looking serene and elegant and poised. Like some expensive sleek socialite and not the scavenger girl who had masqueraded as a princess. Truthfully, this woman is barely recognizable as the girl he once loved.

"Keep swiping. There's a lot."

Kylo complies. Rey looks like an Upper Level soccer mom while out running errands. In casual clothes with fancy boots and expensive jewelry. Kylo sees that she tools around Kuat in a flashy hot rod speeder. And that, at least, he recognizes as completely her. But this urbane, polished young matron is nothing like the girl who he mostly remembers in desert rags, princess garb, or in a borrowed First Order uniform.

"She's alive." The news is still sinking in. Kylo now looks into the eyes of his anxious friend. "I'm a little surprised that you're showing me this. I thought you liked her," he tells Nestor quietly.

"I did," his friend admits. "But I'm not showing you this for Rey. Kylo, this isn't about Rey."

Not about Rey? "What?" He's not following. "Then what is this about?"

Nestor pokes at the datapad again and hands it back. It shows a grainy picture of some skinny shirtless kid on the beach hitting on an older teenaged girl. The photo is taken from the back. Kylo can't even see the kid's face. All he sees is a lot of pale skin and ribs showing.

"Kylo, this isn't about Rey. It's about him. Those pictures were taken last week at the graduation party for Biggs' oldest daughter. It was held at their family beach villa. Keep going."

Kylo swipes to the next picture and his breath catches in his throat. "Fuuuuck."

"Yes, exactly. That's Titus Biggs, their youngest kid. Born before Biggs married Rey. Cade Biggs adopted him years ago."

"Fuck!" Kylo curses emphatically as he stares. The Biggs boy is lanky and long faced, with strong angular features he will have to mature into. But Kylo immediately recognizes his own longish nose. And with his hair cut short, the boy's ears stick out too. Like his own. The Biggs kid's hair is brown, not as dark as Kylo's and not as light as Rey's used to be. But altogether, the resemblance is uncanny. Not that it matters. Assuming this is his kid, only one thing matters now to Kylo Ren: does the boy have the Force?

"When was he born?" Kylo rasps.

"Almost five months after the war ended. He's twelve now."

Five months after . . . "Fuuuck." Kylo resumes swiping. He sees snaps of Rey at the graduation party too. She wears a loose sundress and she stands off to the side with Biggs watching the kids on the beach. Biggs has his arm draped over Rey's shoulders and they both have content smiles on their faces. They look both happy and proud and that pisses Kylo off. Next, there's a picture of the boy in a cadet's uniform walking beside Rey. She's upset and he's annoyed, from the looks of things. The boy has a black eye and a split lip and he's sporting bacta patches on both sets of knuckles. If there was a fight, it looks like his kid lost.

"Intel pulled all they could on Titus Biggs and hacked his school records," Nestor says. "I sent it all to your private inbox, along with these pictures."

"What's the gist?" Kylo wants to know.

"He's a high-strung kid. Bad attitude. Fights a lot. Not well liked. He's been through a bunch of schools. Cade Biggs had to promise to underwrite a new gym at the current school before they would let him in. All the records say the same thing—the boy is temperamental and disinterested. But impressive when he decides to apply himself."

"When is that Honors List dinner?"

"Next month. She's not coming to the dinner. Just Biggs."

"Of course not. She wouldn't want to meet you and risk blowing her cover. And she's too smart to come anywhere near me." Kylo looks over to his friend with true gratitude. "You're a good man, Nestor. Thank you for bringing this to me." Never once in twenty-plus years of friendship has Nestor Flick been anything but completely loyal. "This is very important to me," Kylo says softly. And that's the understatement of the year. Well, maybe the decade.

"Kylo, think carefully about what you do with that information," Nestor warns. "She looks happy. She has a good life. She's not hurting you or anyone else. Let her be. Let sleeping dogs lie."

Kylo raises an eyebrow. "I can't just ignore this."

"I'm not asking you to. Approach the kid but leave her be. Kylo," his longtime friend gives him a pointed look. "Don't go there, bro. For your own sake." Nestor considers a moment. "You know, that kid is awfully young. Maybe you should let him grow up a few more years. There's no rush."

But Kylo's mind is already churning. He's a Sith who loves to plot. And more and more these days, Kylo tries to emulate his Master's discretion. For old Darth Plagueis like his student Darth Sidious had functioned for years out in the open. Masterminding conflicts and resolutions through manipulation and entrapment more often than outright violence. There was a finesse to those men that Kylo Ren admires. Like his Sith forbearers, Kylo's violence always has a purpose. But in the post-war period, Kylo has tried to scale back his use of violence. To employ it sparingly and for maximum impact. These days, Darth Ren the Just tends to wield a steel fist in a velvet glove. He is not the brute his detractors and Rey had once accused him of being.

"When are our contracts with Kuat up for renewal?" he asks.

"Annually. They are before the Appropriations Committee now. The vote is in a few weeks. But I can always delay it."

"Good to know. Tell intel to get me everything they can find on Biggs. I want to know who and what he cares about. Plus any shady business dealings, the details of his divorce, any lovers, addictions or the like. I want to know whatever useful information there is on him."

"We already have a file on Biggs for the Honors List. He's clean, Kylo. A real upstanding guy. He's high profile too, so we may have to frame him with something to justify his arrest."

"No. I don't want to arrest him. And I don't want to kill him."

"Then what do you want?" Nestor is puzzled. "What's the goal here?"

"I want him to walk away."


	4. Chapter 4

In maturity, Kylo Ren is a pragmatic man. More measured in his goals and less visionary. Less the romantic reformer he once was. Less the idealist, too. His experiences with the war and its immediate aftermath took some of the tint off his rose-colored glasses. And his experiences with Rey forced him to rethink his ambitions. At thirty, this Sith had been a young man in a hurry to prove himself. At forty-five, he is a man who prefers to do things right rather than do them fast. To do less, but do it better. Kylo Ren will always be bold, but today he is far less brash.

He knows now that change takes time and change is hard. It will be years before the Rim is cleaned up and the Mid Rim is fully rebuilt. Coruscant is reconstructed but that's only because he had poured credits and resources into his capital world first. Kylo had wanted Coruscant to be bigger and better than ever. To serve as an example of his benevolent view for the future. Once more, his home world is the much-admired bright center of the known universe.

Kylo will always be an emotive Sith, but he no longer wears his heart on his sleeve for any topic. Preferring instead to be remote and secretive with all but his inner circle. These days, the Sith is more inclined to be calculating than impulsive, to be cold rather than hot. In these respects, Kylo prides himself that he is emulating his beloved Master. Most days, it appears to be working. Except that old Snoke always seemed to be having a lot more fun at being a Sith. Ruling the galaxy has turned out to be a lot less enjoyable than Kylo expected. Some days, it's just plain hard.

He's talked to Nestor about it a few times. His friend, as always, is full of common sense. And surprisingly reflective at times.

"We got here too fast, Kylo. That's the problem. There's nothing big left to aspire to."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that fixing up the starter house makes owning the big mansion years later feel good. But skipping the starter house and going straight to the palace jumps past all the stuff that matters."

"I don't get it." Kylo never gets it when people speak in metaphors. Plus, it reminds him of his dead uncle teaching the Force.

So Nestor tries again. "It's the ride up that makes success fulfilling. That and the people you share it with."

Kylo puzzles over this for a moment. "So it was too much, too soon?"

"Yeah. It was."

It was too much, too soon, and now Kylo has no one to share it with. Not a wife and family. Not an Apprentice. Kylo decides that's how the old widower Snoke had managed to be happy for a century alone. Old Darth Plagueis had an Apprentice to love and to raise along with goals left to achieve. Kylo has none of these things.

He knows that he has been reckless existing this long as the lone Sith. He has long needed an Apprentice. But Force-users don't grow on trees, so there had been no obvious candidate. For a while, Kylo had sat back and decided to wait for the Force to send him a pupil. For that's how it has worked time and again through successive generations of Sith. But after ten years, Kylo had declared that approach a failure.

He had moved on to a new tactic. Kylo had spent long hours studying his Master's notes with the goal of creating a new Skywalker in the Force the way Darth Plagueis had once compelled the conception of Anakin Skywalker. But his efforts were unsuccessful. While his powers have increased steadily through the years, this young Sith Master still lacks the requisite Dark majesty to create life anew.

That just leaves the old-fashioned way to birth a Sith. To find himself a wife and beget a child like an ordinary man. It has been the obvious solution all along, but it is not his preferred solution. Because that domesticity was the future he had planned with Rey. The happily-ever-after that had slipped from his grasp. When that dream had died hard and fast, Kylo had walked away from it forever. Unwilling to settle for some shadow of the happy family life he once thought would be his.

But he's a pragmatic man and so last year Emperor Ren had instructed Milo to stop bringing him whores and to start bringing him ladies. He auditions them for a few months in his bed and in his life. Milo finds them various places. Some are grad students at Coruscant University. One was the daughter of a general. Another was a Senator's granddaughter. One and all, they are women of enviable education and background, with good taste and social polish. Women who are nothing like his Cinderella Sith princess had been. The girl he had met wearing rags and smelling like sweat and engine oil.

These women are all very young, very beautiful and very biddable. Desperate to please and more than a little in awe of him. It makes it easy to stay distant from them. To not get emotionally involved. He commands the girls like he does everyone else, only in softer terms. He tries to be gentle and indulgent with them, like he remembers Snoke being with his lumpy Twi'lek beauties. And after a few weeks-two months at the very longest- Kylo dismisses them one and all. She's not the one, he tells Milo. And then a few days later another enticing new beauty appears waiting for him at dinner. And he tries again.

Who knew dating would be so hard? It is discouraging at times. And those are the moments when his thoughts wander towards the past. Kylo resolutely pushes them away. For the loss of Rey is like the loss of his parents and his uncle. Kylo simply doesn't go there. Well, he tries not to go there. It's been so long now that avoiding those memories has become easy. Well, it had been easy. Until Nestor had handed him a datapad on the back landing platform and rocked his world.

Nestor's news was simultaneously a shock and a revelation, a blessing and a curse. For here is his painful past rushing up at him to dangle the hope of a better future. Is this the Force sending him an Apprentice at long last? Will this kid be the Force-strong Skywalker heir he has longed for? Kylo really hopes that this kid is his. That this boy will be his son to love, to groom and to raise. To be the meaning that has been lacking and the long-term project Kylo seeks. Even if the boy isn't his, Kylo hopes that he has inherited the Force from Rey. For even if this boy isn't a Skywalker, he is a Palpatine. And that's the next best thing.

Nestor was right, Kylo decides. It is the boy that matters, not Rey. He will not get dragged into dealing with Rey. Once was enough with her. And so, sitting in his private office, Kylo ignores the several surveillance and intel files that he has been sent on Rey Biggs. He's not interested in Rey's life now. He's only interested in the boy. But as curious as he is, some large part of Kylo is hesitant too. His fingertip hovers over his datapad, hesitating to open the files that will reveal this maybe-son to him. Quite frankly, Kylo is worried about what he will find.

This is a moment his grandfather must have had, Kylo realizes with a start. Some analyst must have handed Lord Vader a datafile on Luke Skywalker, the infamous Rebel pilot who took the improbable shot that had destroyed the Death Star. Had his grandfather hesitated like Kylo is doing now? Had Lord Vader been a little afraid to see the details of his own son? Because Kylo is. His boy isn't a notorious left-wing terrorist who destroyed his boss' favorite toy. His boy is just a pre-teen school kid. But still . . . Kylo is worried about what fate will hand him. Will this be a boy raised to hate him and kill him like his uncle had been? Or will this boy live in blissful ignorance of his fierce heritage like Vader and he himself had done for years? Kylo swallows hard and hopes that the Force is with him. Then he starts opening the datafiles.

He skips past the pictures of his awkward, dorky kid. They are far more uncomfortably familiar than Kylo would like. But the measure of a Sith is his power, not what he looks like. For hadn't his beloved Master had the visage of a monster? His grandfather too supposedly. Then so what if his kid is geeky and strange looking? He looks like his dad, and that's what matters. They are Skywalkers one and all. One unbroken line of Chosen Ones destined to reshape the Force and to rule the galaxy. To bring harmony between the Light and the Dark. Kylo tells himself that even Anakin Skywalker must have been a whiney, goofy kid at some point. And look how well he had turned out despite all that time with the Jedi.

Kylo starts first with the school records. It's a bit like reading a description of his younger self. Unfocused. Undisciplined. Reckless. With a temper and an innate arrogance that his peers dislike. His kid has been through a string of fancy schools with Cade Biggs' credits buying the way in and hushing up the circumstances of the way out. Yes, it is depressingly like Kylo's own school years only Cade Biggs appears to have been far more patient with second chances than Leia Organa had been.

His would be Sith Apprentice isn't the bully. Usually, he's the victim. He's always older kids who single him out. For it seems that his boy has never learned to turn down a fight. Fighting appears to be Titus Biggs' chief vice. More often than not, he wins. Kylo hopes that's a sign that the boy is unconsciously using the Force. For how else would his kid successfully fight off three boys who are four years his senior and many inches and pounds bigger? Of course, Kylo isn't troubled by this innate violence. That's not really a problem for a Sith. But it is different from his own personal experience. No one had ever bothered to bully the young Ben Solo. So all things considered, Kylo takes his kid's fighting as a good sign. The boy has the competitive, combative spirit he will need later in life.

Academically, the reviews for Titus Biggs are mixed. He excels in math and is adept at languages, but he has no natural motivation to succeed. If he likes a subject, he will study it. If not, he won't. Reaching the boy might be hard, Kylo sees. This isn't a Ben Solo type who is desperate to escape his pre-determined future and looking for a new path. This is a boy who seems to lack any direction. And he is young. Painfully young for the rigors of Sith training. Darth Plagueis had always been critical of beginning Force training too young, cautioning that the Jedi ruined many of their young padawans by rushing things. Is twelve too young? Kylo isn't sure.

The school records are also replete with recommendations for special needs testing. Is the boy on the spectrum? More than one educator lists out his red flags. Introverted. Avoids eye contact. Socially awkward. Interested in only a few things, but tends to be obsessive about them. Other school counselors worry he exhibits signs of depression. It appears that everyone wants to diagnose this boy but Rey. The follow up notes all include a variation of the same thing: the mother is in denial about the extent of his problems, the mother thinks he just needs time to mature, the mother keeps saying she doesn't want her kid labeled, the mother says he's not like other kids, the mother is his apologist and chief enabler, the mother is not objective about the situation. One note catches his eye: the mother loves him too much. It is meant as a criticism, but Kylo smiles as he reads it. For though Rey couldn't learn love the father, at least she had learned to love the son.

Kylo sifts through the information slowly. Then he sits back to digest it all. Titus is a combination of he and Rey, he realizes. The violence, depressive tendencies and obsessiveness come from him. The social struggles and inherent introversion come from Rey. Probably the facility with languages too. Rey had always been good with languages. It is all very intriguing but it doesn't answer the critical question: does Titus Biggs have the Force? The Force is strong in his family, but it's not a sure thing. It would be just like the universe to fuck with him by giving him a Force-blind son like Darth Plagueis' youngest boy had been.

Kylo finally gets around to looking at the pictures after all. Rarely is Titus smiling in the photographs. Mostly, it's a hangdog expression with a head half turned away. This is the face of discouragement. Of resentment. Of a boy who knows he's been written off at twelve. And more than anything-more than the disjointed features and the educators' criticisms-this resonates with Kylo. For he too had been raised in a culture of success and groomed to do great things, only to fail. They wrote me off too son, Kylo thinks to himself. And look at me now.

* * *

Weekday mornings at the Biggs house are a whirlwind. Rey stands on duty at her family command post in the kitchen. Then in the course of forty-five minutes, three kids and a husband breeze in and rush out. And then the door shuts and suddenly the house is empty and quiet. There's a pile of dishes on the table and sometimes a forgotten jacket or datapad left behind. The next morning, it repeats all over again. These are the rhythms of everyday family life and Rey loves them.

And so this morning, like every morning, Rey is the first one up and dressed. The droid has made a pot of caf and Rey is busy cooking breakfast. Smiling to herself as she waits for the first person to rush in. Today, it's Malia. Titus follows on her heels.

"Mom, where's my datapad?" Malia asks.

"On the couch. Sit down and eat something before you run off. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Okay. Maybe some fruit," her daughter agrees.

"And protein. You should eat protein at every meal," Rey informs her. Balanced nutrition is her thing. She frowns at her girl. "Why are you dressed like that? Where is your uniform?"

"It's the last week of school. Seniors don't have to wear uniforms the last week of school. It's tradition."

"Oh. Right. Well don't let your father see how short that skirt is, young lady."

Rey piles up two plates of food and sets them down before the kids. Titus starts digging in but Malia makes a face. "Mom, I'm a vegetarian."

Rey blinks and Titus snorts. "Since when?"

"Yesterday. Meat is so last year."

"Oh. Right."

"I'll eat your bacon," Titus offers, reaching greedily for his sister's plate to help himself.

"You would. Bacon is gross. But you'll eat anything."

"Your brother is a growing boy," Rey reminds them both.

"Mom, where's my datapad?" Sasha asks as she darts in next. This daughter at least is wearing her uniform. "I'm late!"

"Late for what?" Rey asks.

"We have a student council meeting before class this morning. Bowen is already outside waiting in the speeder to pick me up. She got her license last week."

Rey grins at this reminder. "I can't believe that my daughter will be the president of next year's junior class. Just think," she tells the other Biggs kids proudly, "maybe someday your sister will be in the Galactic Senate."

"It's just because she's popular," Titus grumbles between shoveling in bacon. "Not because she's good or anything. Popular is stupid."

Both sisters ignore him. And now Sasha is getting more anxious in the way only a super-organized Type A teenaged girl can. "I'm late! Where's my datapad? Mom, I really need my datapad!" she wails.

"So you can text your idiot friends all day?" Her brother's sarcasm is biting.

"At least I have friends," his sister shoots back. "Mom, where is it? I need it! Did you hide it?" Sasha demands of her brother. "Because it would be just like you to hide it."

"No!"

Rey inserts herself now. "I think I saw it charging on the table by the door. Here, take a muffin with you. And here's some water. Sasha, be sure to hydrate."

"Sure. Okay, well, bye everyone."

"Tell Bowen to drive carefully," Rey calls after Sasha's retreating form. "And wear your seatbelt," she adds. "It's the law, you know."

"Yes, Mom," comes the hollered response. Then Rey hears the front door whoosh open and shut. She's gone. One Biggs down, three Biggs to go.

"Hydrate? She needs to hydrate?" Titus smirks. "She's going to a student council meeting, Mom. Not running a marathon."

"Hydration is very important. Drink up, Titus. You never know when you might run out of water."

"Run out of water? Seriously, Mom. You worry about the strangest things." He rolls his eyes and Rey ignores it.

"Morning everyone." Cade Biggs wanders in dressed for work and smelling like shower gel and aftershave. He crosses to the kitchen counter to pour himself a cup of caf. Then he looks over at Rey. "Honey, have you seen my datapad? It's not in the bedroom where I usually plug it in at night."

"I think you left it on the dining room table after dinner," Rey answers. Because among her many mom tasks and wife tasks, keeping track of datapads is high on the list.

Cade Biggs walks out to retrieve his datapad and then returns to sit down opposite Titus and Malia. Rey places a plate of food before him. Then Cade starts perusing his inbox and downing the first of three cups of caf. "Where's Sasha?" he asks between bites.

Malia answers. "Student council meeting. You just missed her."

"I can't believe we're raising a little politician," Cade chuckles.

"We could do a lot worse," Rey smiles back at him. "Did she tell you that she'll have to give an acceptance speech in the fall? Cade, you should give her some pointers. You speak in public all the time."

"Student council is stupid," Titus grumbles.

Cade gives him a pointed look. "It means a lot to your sister. And in this house, we support each other."

"How are the futures markets, Dad?" Malia asks. She knows that the first thing her father does every morning is check the commodities markets.

"Metals are up again," he sighs. "That's going to increase my production costs if this trend holds."

"And that will hurt your profit margins, right?" Malia follows up.

"Right, but only on our fixed price turnkey contracts. We have some cost-plus contracts for the bigger capital ships that require more materials and take longer to build."

"The cost-plus contracts reduce your risk exposure, right?"

"Right," Cade smiles approval at his oldest daughter. "It protects our negotiated rate of return." He catches his wife's eye now. "Rey, we'll have one politician and one business mogul someday. These kids are going to do us proud."

"I'm already proud of them," Rey retorts happily.

"How about you, Titus?" his father asks. "What's your plan? Is this new school going to make a general out of you?"

Titus makes a face and looks away. "I'm twelve. I don't have a plan."

"It's good to have goals," Rey says softly as she refills Cade's caf. It's on to cup number two now.

Malia laughs. "Oh, no doubt he'll end up in jail for fighting. Probably felony assault. That's your future plan, right?"

"Malia, don't be mean to your brother," Rey protests, giving her a sharp look.

But their oldest is unrepentant as only a self-assured queen bee big sister can be. "I'm just sayin'. There's a screw-up in every family. Guess it's him."

"Malia!" Now, Rey's voice is sharper. "That was uncalled for. And unworthy of you. Apologize right now."

"You heard your mother," Cade jumps in with some parenting of his own. He looks up from his datapad to wag a finger at his oldest. "In this house, we support each other."

"Sorry, Titus," the girl is red-faced and chastised.

But Titus does not accept it gracefully. "I hate you."

And now Cade gives Titus the same lecture as his older sister. "Son, in this house, we support each other. Now apologize."

"Sorry," he too begrudgingly makes amends.

"Geez, this is a grumpy bunch this morning," Cade Biggs observes as he turns back to his datapad. But soon it's his own turn to look frustrated. "Well, f-f-" he stops himself from swearing.

"What is it?" Rey asks as she finally sits down with a plate of her own. Being Mom usually means you are the last to sit down to eat.

Cade is visibly exasperated. "That new assistant of mine is not working out. She's keeps getting things confused. This time, she's got all the details for my Coruscant trip messed up. Look at this!" he gestures to his datapad

"What is it?" Rey repeats. She's still in the dark.

"The Senate Chancellor's office just sent a note confirming that Mr. and Mrs. Cade Biggs will be at the Honors List dinner next week. But, Rey, we declined for you weeks ago. That's in part why we sent the ship. But apparently, that message didn't get communicated by my incompetent assistant and now they think you're coming."

Rey would rather not reopen this topic. But she tries to be a supportive spouse. "Well, surely that can get it cleared up, right? It's just an rsvp."

"Yes, and a very late one to a very important event hosted by a very important person. There's a whole itinerary included here for you, Rey. And a set of court protocols for female guests that details everything from skirt length to curtsies." Cade peers at something on his screen now. "Look-we're both on the seating chart that they included. Yes, they definitely think you are coming."

"Oh, that's unfortunate," Rey sighs. "We're going to mess up their seating arrangements now."

"Yes, and it's only going to call attention to your absence." Cade keeps reading and his scowl deepens. "There's a note here that says that the Chancellor won't be presiding at the dinner. He and the Emperor are spending next week touring economic development zones in the Outer Rim." Cade sighs. "There goes my chance to meet the top dogs."

Rey plays along like she thinks this is a big loss. "Oh, Cade, I'm sorry. That takes some of the fun out of it for you. Who's hosting the dinner now?"

"Looks like it's Senator Byrd. He's a powerful guy. He chairs Appropriations." Cade pulls up the seating chart again to scan the names. "There's at least five members of his committee attending. Plus, General Kaplan from our Board. That's a pretty good group," Cade brightens. "It's not as glamorous as Flick and Ren, but it's probably more advantageous for the company this way. It will be good for me to be seen being honored by these guys. I don't suppose you'll change your mind about going now?" Cade looks to her hopefully. "Rey, I think you've met most of these First Order guys already." He hands over the datapad with the seating chart pulled up.

"I don't know, Cade. Do we have to talk about this now?" She gestures with her eyes over to the oblivious Titus. Her son knows that his biological father died in the war, and that's about it. He doesn't know the circumstances of his parents' separation or the details of Rey's past. Once Cade had adopted Titus, they agreed that they would be deliberately vague so as not to confuse the young boy. Fortunately, Titus has never asked any tough questions about his biological father.

"Just think about it. Because if I am going to correct your rsvp, I need to do it today, Rey. But I would prefer not to."

"Alright. I'll think about it." Rey checks the time and then changes the topic. "Titus, am I dropping you at school this morning? Malia, what about you? Want a lift?"

Fifteen minutes later, Rey has kissed Cade goodbye and she has the kids piled in the speeder. Another day has begun. After the school run, Rey spends a few hours with the design team at Kuat. They are trying to choose next year's replica model for the Rey Series. Rey wants to do an Eta-2 Actis Interceptor based on old schematics she found in the Kuat archives. But everyone thinks that's impolitic in the current political climate. Because who wants to own a Jedi starfighter these days? Rey's solution is to label it an Old Republic starfighter, but no one is convinced. They'll probably end up doing some throwback vintage TIE design instead, she thinks. And that will be nothing special.

Back at home later, Rey dutifully thinks over the Coruscant trip as she had promised. But first, she spends a full hour on the holonet verifying the details of Emperor Ren's Outer Rim trip. Where he will appear and when. What he will be doing. Rey replays clips of the palace spokeswoman speaking last week about the historic significance of the upcoming trip. She watches fawning press coverage showing excitement building on the Rim worlds where the Emperor and his Chancellor will visit. It seems clear that Kylo and Nestor will not be on Coruscant during Cade's big night. And now that she's comfortable that the one man in the galaxy Rey knows can sense her presence in the Force will not be there, Rey types Cade a message.

 _Keep the RSVP as a yes._ _I'm coming with you to Coruscant._

She owes this to Cade, Rey tells herself. After all Cade has done for her, Rey wants to agree to his request. It's like he had told the kids at breakfast this morning. In the Biggs house, family members support each other. And now, it's time for Rey to do her part.


	5. Chapter 5

Rey sits in a hotel suite in a dressing gown as her grooming droid puts the finishing touches on her toilette. The Honors dinner is an evening affair, so she has a full face of makeup on. But it's natural looking. Rey has never been one for garish lipsticks or lurid eye makeup. From back during her first days attending to her appearance as Snoke's adopted daughter, Rey has always favored an understated, pretty look.

As prescribed by court protocol, tonight she wears a formal gown. Like most of Rey's clothes, this dress is elegant. It is white and sleek, maybe even spare, in its aesthetic. Elaborate fabrics, beads and lace remind her of bygone days as a fairytale Sith princess, so Rey consistently avoids them. She also avoids showing skin. Tonight, her bare arms peek out from beneath a matching tailored cape that is sewn to the shoulders of her gown. Her hair is down in loose honey-colored waves just like Cade likes it. Altogether, it's a demure form of sex appeal. Ladylike and chic.

Taking one last critical assessment, Rey is satisfied. Through the years, she has come to appreciate the ritual of dressing for an event. First the nails, second the hair, third the face, next the dress, then the jewelry. In methodical fashion, Rey armors up for big nights out. Telling herself that looking the part is half the battle. It has become her habit to use this quiet time before the mirror to psyche herself up. Giving herself a private pep talk on how to handle every conversation with aplomb. Secretly channeling her aloof princess self and what she remembers of the effortlessly self-assured Cesi Flick. Rey has done this ritual many times before, for she and Cade go out on a fairly regular basis. But it never gets easier. And maybe it's the Senate Rotunda setting or maybe it's just being back on Coruscant after all these years, but tonight Rey feels extra jittery. Like she shouldn't have come. But it's too late to back out now.

"Nervous?" Cade is fiddling with his cufflinks across the room. He catches her eyes in the mirror.

"A little," Rey admits. Well, a lot.

"You'll be the most beautiful woman there tonight." His comment has the desired effect, and she smiles. Cade is always generous with his compliments.

"It helps that I'm twenty years the youngest," Rey observes with some wry self-deprecation.

Her husband just flashes a grin. "All the other guys will be jealous of me. And rightfully so."

Cade always encourages her like this. It's not that Rey lacks confidence or poise generally. But she lacks it in high pressure social situations. For no matter how practiced her veneer of social polish becomes, it will never come naturally to the isolated scavenger orphan. She's direct by nature so she will always have to work at witty small talk. Most of all, she dreads the six-degrees-of-separation chatter that seems to dominate in these settings. First someone comments on her accent and asks if she's from Coruscant. It goes from there. Where were you at university? What did your parents do? Where did you live in the Upper Level? Where did you summer? Do you know so-and-so? By now, Rey has become adept at turning the focus of the conversation off herself. But still, it makes her nervous. Kylo used to tell her that her charm lay in how different she was from other girls. And that's what sticks in Rey's mind foremost: that she is different. And she is.

Cade is shrugging into his jacket as Rey pins on her earrings. Then she slips on the eye-popping wedding ring she irreverently calls 'the Rock' and only wears on special occasions. She stands up now and frowns into the mirror as she holds up a bracelet. "Is it too much?" she consults her husband.

"Rey, you have never worn too much jewelry in your entire life. By all means, wear it. If there was ever a place to flaunt your baubles, this is it."

That remark makes Rey smile, so she slips on the glittery bracelet and affixes the clasp. "Done," she declares. And surveying the whole look in the mirror, Rey marvels that she was once a girl who had never owned a real credit. She's come a long way in life. And tonight, Rey is determined to enjoy it and to celebrate the man who helped to make it possible. Things might have been very different for her and Titus had Cade Biggs not come along.

"Ready?" he asks, as he offers her his hand.

Rey takes a deep, fortifying breath. "Ready."

The evening begins, as these things always do, with a cocktail reception. Tonight's guest list is a select group of about a hundred, including the ten honorees and their spouses. The honorees are conspicuous in their handsome red and black satin ribbons that bear the medallion insignia of the First Order. The men wear the ribbon in form of a sash visible beneath their coats. The ladies sport their ribbon in broach form.

Tonight turns out to be far easier than Rey had feared. The focus of the conversation remains fixed on Cade. Rey stands smiling and nodding at her husband's side as he receives round after round of hearty congratulations. There is much back-slapping and handshake pumping all around, for this mix and mingle hour is something of a victory lap for the New Empire's power elite. Cade Biggs is clearly well liked within the clubby world of the Senate and the military, for a number of guests are anxious to seek him out. Rey listens in to their talk of contract renewals and committee votes. She greets those few people she knows and meets many others she doesn't. She plays her usual role of proud corporate spouse.

Soon, the cocktail hour is over. The wait staff begins to discretely shepherd the crowd into the adjoining Senate Rotunda chamber where the dinner will be held. Rey hands off her untouched glass of champagne to a waiter and leans over to whisper to Cade, "I'm so glad I came." They exchange smiles. And now, they too begin to flow with the party crowd into the main event space.

They never make it in. For the happy din quiets suddenly. A hush abruptly comes over the crowd. Rey follows the direction that others have turned but she and Cade are in the middle of the crowd and she can't see over others' heads.

"What's going on?" Rey turns back to her husband. "Can you see? Is something wrong?"

Cade doesn't answer, but as one by one and then almost en masse the crowd surrounding Rey sinks to one knee, she guesses the answer. For this supplicant's pose is the expected protocol for being in the Emperor's presence. Rey's eyes grow wide. She watches with horror as her husband takes a knee. "It's our lucky day, Rey," Cade grins as he looks up expectantly at her to follow suit.

But she doesn't. Rey stands her ground. Too stunned to do anything further. Within mere seconds, she is the only person still on her feet among a hundred. A lone woman in white conspicuously standing while others crouch respectfully in their finery.

"Hello Rey."

The voice comes from behind. At the sound of that deep magnified drawl, her heart skips a beat. And then another. Rey closes her eyes as if to shut out reality for just a moment. To stop time for a few seconds to steady herself. Because this is a voice that has haunted her dreams. After all these years, the sound of her name on his lips is still familiar. Even when it's through the mask.

"Kylo." The name slips out as she whirls around. Rey belatedly sees that she should have listened to her instincts. On Jakku, they had never steered her wrong. But it has been so long since Rey has opened her mind to the Force, that she had not recognized its persistent foreboding message.

Kylo Ren now stands a full ten meters from her on the perimeter of the kneeling crowd. But he might as well be looming over her. Was he always this tall and commanding, she wonders. Or has she been around the average height Biggs clan for too long? The iconic mask is much as she remembers only it has none of the scratches from wartime use. Gone too are the usual knight's surcoat and tunic the Emperor habitually wears in public. Tonight, Kylo sports a flowing black cloak that reminds her strongly of old Darth Plagueis. He looks every inch a Sith Master.

As she stands and stares, Kylo too silently looks his fill. Somewhere the recesses of her mind register the fact that stormtroopers now flood from behind the reception room's exits with guns raised. There are red robed Imperial guards too in Kylo's wake. Heavily armed, like Rey remembers his knights being. One guard approaches to pick his way through the kneeling crowd but Rey ignores him. She can't tear her eyes from that silver and black mask.

Who is he now, she thinks. Is he anything like the man she once knew?

"Rey!" Cade hisses through his teeth. It breaks her reverie. Cade's eyes are insistent as he jerks his head in a gesture to prompt her to drop to the floor.

Her husband is not the only one to take issue with her breach of manners. "Kneel woman. Show respect." The oncoming guard grabs her left arm to forcibly yank her down, but Kylo waves him away.

"Leave her be. Once, she was to be my equal."

The Sith takes a step forward and Rey instinctively steps back, nearly stumbling over her kneeling husband. She scoots around Cade, but there is nowhere to go in the crowded space. "Kylo." She breathes his name out loud again softly. "Oh, K-Kylo."

"Rey!" Cade hisses again from below as he tugs down hard on her skirt. "Kneel!"

Kylo keeps advancing and those on the ground scuttle from his path. As the crowd recedes, he comes to stand before her now. The Sith lifts a gloved hand to her face and Rey shies away. But he is undeterred. "Look at you," he rumbles. "So Light. So lovely. So . . . alive." His words are soft but his tone has a distinct menacing edge. And through the Force, Rey senses his strong emotions firmly held in check. "Princess, you are more beautiful than I remember. And certainly, more blonde."

"Princess?" It's Cade's shocked whisper from below.

Rey rears back her chin from Kylo's grip and edges away. Her hands are upraised now, ready to give the Emperor a hard shove with her hands and with the Force. But he seems unconcerned. In fact, she can almost picture Kylo's sly, satisfied smile behind the mask. He's been looking forward to this, she senses.

"You should not have come back," Kylo intones softly. "That was very, very foolish."

Her adrenaline is pumping fast and instinctively Rey looks to flee. She makes to dart around Kylo, but he anticipates her. Grabbing hold hard of her forearm as he wrenches her towards him. His mask is in her face as he warns, "Careful, Princess. I've given orders to shoot to kill." Still, Rey struggles in his grip. Then Kylo surprises her when abruptly he lets go. She's facing the group now and sees the hundred-odd pairs of eyes pinned on her. Everyone is watching. Alarmed and intrigued.

"Is this he? Is this Biggs?" Kylo gestures down to wide-eyed Cade. "You may rise, Cade Biggs."

"E-Excellency—" Cade begins to sputter out. "My w-wife is unwell—"

"Silence!" Kylo bellows. Then, he surveys the assembled group and dismisses them. "Good people, arise and leave us. Go now and resume your celebration. This is a family matter. Indulge us with privacy, please."

The others beat a hasty and hushed retreat. As the partygoers depart, the stormtroopers and Imperial guards move quickly to surround her, Kylo and Cade in a wide circumference. Their guns are raised. Looking around, it's clear there is no escape.

Now that they are in relative privacy, the Sith crosses his arms and unleashes his sarcasm. "You seem to have a thing for powerful men, Rey. First you charmed me, then you charmed Snoke, then you charmed Hux. Now, you have moved on from the Dark Side to businessmen. But I suppose some would say that there's not much difference." Kylo considers her bewildered husband and outright sneers, "Look how old he is. Rey, did you go looking for a father or a husband?"

"You're supposed to be in the Outer Rim," Rey says shakily as finally she finds her voice.

"My plans changed. I didn't want to miss this family reunion," Kylo bites back.

"You knew I was coming!" she accuses.

"Obviously. My powers have doubled since we last met, Rey. I knew the moment your transport touched down." He reaches up now to remove his helmet, then tosses it at a trooper to catch. Because this is personal and no doubt Kylo wants to look her in the eye. "I have been waiting for you," Kylo rasps. Dark eyes glittering and his expression hard. He looks older now, Rey sees. Everything about his face looks more pronounced. His sharp features, his pallor, even his scar.

Again, the Sith turns his attention to the shocked and confused man standing at her side. "Cade Biggs," Kylo observes without enthusiasm as he begins pacing a slow circle around them. "The chief executive of Kuat. An engineer who worked his way up through the ranks with a combination of business acumen and good-natured charm. Known for his excellent labor relations and attention to the bottom line. A rare business leader with character, lauded as much for his community endeavors as for his profit margin." Kylo's eyes slant her way. "Such a pillar of the establishment. It makes one wonder what this poor fellow ever saw in you, Rey. He's far too good for you."

"Cade is innocent." Kylo hasn't pulled his sword yet, but it's only a matter of time. Rey sees now that her folly could cost her husband his life. So she leaps forward to pull at Kylo's arm. At her side, Cade starts with alarm at this familiarity. "Kylo, he did nothing wrong! He doesn't know—"

"Doesn't know what?" the Sith purrs down at her. He's enjoying himself, Rey can tell. And it angers her to be toyed with in this way. And about something so important. But she's determined to keep Cade out of this conflict, if at all possible.

"He doesn't know any of it," she swears.

"Any of it?" Kylo parrots with skepticism. "My, Rey, what a good liar you must be. So in twelve years of marriage you never told him who you are? That you are my runaway bride promised to me for killing Skywalker? That you are a Sith princess and the heiress to Sheev Palpatine's Empire?"

Rey swallows hard as she shakes her head. "No. He doesn't know."

"Does he know that you have the Force? That you trained with the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker himself?"

"No."

Kylo raises an eyebrow and looks over at her stunned husband a moment before continuing. "Does he know that you were caught with the Resistance? That you were spared by the mercy of Supreme Leader Snoke himself? That Snoke called you daughter and you sat on his throne?"

"No."

A slow, wicked smile spreads across Kylo's face. For her husband's eyes have become huge with this series of improbable revelations. "She told me she was a mechanic from the Rim . . . not a princess . . . " Cade whispers aloud. "And the R-Resistance?" Her husband's face is a mix of horror and betrayal.

And now Kylo pins her husband with his eyes as he asks Rey softly. "Does he know that the son he adopted is mine?"

Rey goes pale a moment before wailing, "No! No, I lied to him! He didn't know!" Because Kylo knows about Titus. Of course, if he knew about her, then he would know about Titus. And, oh, Titus!

"Titus is your s-son?" Cade Biggs looks stricken. He whirls on her. "You have a child with the Emperor?" he hisses.

"Yes," Kylo answers for her. His expression is cold rage. "Cade Biggs, do you know what you have stolen from me? You have taken my wife and my child for your own. You dared to claim the next Skywalker prince as your son."

Cade Biggs is lost in these words and still trying to piece it all together. "Then you were the one who tried to kill Rey?" he sputters out. Cade looks to her now. "Rey, you were running from Kylo Ren?"

"Yes," she confesses unhappily.

Her husband tries again to understand. "So there was never any boyfriend Sayeed Hassan?"

"No," she whispers. "It was always Kylo Ren. I was running from Kylo Ren."

Cade looks devastated at her duplicity. "Rey," he breathes out. "Rey . . . why didn't you tell me?" When she has no immediate answer, Cade looks to Kylo. For as understanding dawns on him, the gravity of the situation comes home. "I am a loyal subject of the Empire," he declares shakily.

Kylo is unimpressed. "You have for years sheltered a fugitive wanted for high treason. That is not the act of a loyal subject." Kylo's voice and demeanor are cold. And that's not how Rey remembers him. The Kylo she knew would have exploded by now or at the very least drawn his sword. But this Sith is much more controlled than in his younger days.

"He didn't know!" Rey inserts herself again. "Please, Kylo, don't hurt him! He's a loyal citizen of the Empire and he's been feeding your war machine for years."

Her interruption focuses Kylo's anger back on her. "You stole my son to hide him away like my uncle was stolen from Vader. Like Vader was stolen before he could be claimed by Snoke. This is everything you knew I wanted to avoid!" he seethes. "You knew how much I wanted things to be different for us!" Giving Rey a withering look he orders to his guards, "Bring him in."

And now a squad of stormtroopers appear to march forward a prisoner held firmly under the arms by two Imperial guards. The prisoner's head is covered by a black hood, but his build is slight compared to the men who surround him and Rey instantly recognizes the school cadet uniform.

"NO! NO, Kylo!" she shrieks starting towards the troopers only to be stopped by a gun to her chest. Powerless to reach her son, she whirls on Kylo and starts to beg softly. "Don't! Please! Titus doesn't know the truth either! He doesn't know!" Because poor Titus can't learn the awful truth this way. Here. Now. In front of all of these people.

Rey is close to hysterics now. Because her lies have been uncovered and first her husband is implicated and now her son is threatened. These are the two people Rey loves most. And that love, along with a healthy dose of self-preservation, is why Rey has lied for so long. But her desire to protect them has been their undoing. And now her family is betrayed and her heart is breaking. Oh, Gods, how her heart is breaking! For to love is to be vulnerable. To open oneself up to loss, to hurt, and to disappointment. It's a lesson Kylo Ren learned many times over through the years, but it's a lesson Rey has only learned through parenthood and then marriage. But that love is in ruins now for her lies revealed today will devastate her family. Nothing will ever be the same, she knows.

Rey watches in horror as a trooper snatches the hood from her son's head and thrusts him to a sprawl at Kylo's feet. "Titus Biggs, Sir."

The disoriented boy blinks up from the floor in terrified confusion. He sees first the guards and then the guns. But relief crosses his features when his eyes settle on her and Cade. "Where am I?"

"Coruscant," Kylo answers. "This is the Galactic Senate."

"The Senate?" Titus looks around furtively. "M-Mom? D-Dad?" the boy sputters. "W-What's going on?" Titus looks as though he might cry. "Is this about the f-fight at school this morning? Because that guy jumped me. I swear, he jumped me! It was payback for breaking his arm." And that's when Rey realizes that her boy is bruised with a black eye. Titus is defiant now as he completely misunderstands the situation. Because he's a scared kid panicking that he has been hauled into the Galactic Senate for a fight at school, never suspecting what's really going on. "I don't care if he's a Senator's kid," Titus spits out as he wipes a tear that leaks from his good eye. He sits up and declares, "I still kicked his ass. And I'd do it again! Tell Trudow that I will break his kid's other arm too." The boy doubles down on his transgression with a bravado he doesn't know he inherited.

"Titus—" Rey again attempts to approach him. She wants to be the one to break the news, if possible. For who knows how brutally Kylo will do this. "Titus, listen to me—"

But her son overrides her. Titus is looking up resentfully at Kylo who stands with his helmet off and arms crossed peering down him. "Am I supposed to be intimidated? Is that it? Because I'm not," the boy scoffs through trembling lips. It is false courage from a kid who has no idea he's in way over his head. "I'm not afraid of you!"

"Titus, please—" Rey starts again. "I need to tell you something—"

And again, she is interrupted. "Did she teach you hate me?" Kylo asks quietly. He has sunk to a crouch before Titus, searching his boy's teary eyes. "Did she?" he demands gruffly.

Titus isn't following. He scowls and struggles defiantly to his feet. Kylo too arises. "Was that your kid I beat up again today?" Titus sneers up at him. "Are you Senator Trudow? Is that why these First Order goons hauled me here?"

"No."

"Oh." The boy now looks over the tall man wearing the all-black robe and reasons another logical inference. "Okay, then are you some sort of judge? Because if you're a judge, I want a lawyer. My dad will pay for a lawyer. Right, Dad?"

"I am not a judge."

"Then who are you?" Titus demands. "Why am I here? Why are they here?" The kid gestures to his parents.

Kylo backs up a few steps. Then he plucks out his lightsaber hidden within his robes. It ignites with a one-two snap hiss and a flash of red. "Does this help?" Kylo raises his eyebrows.

A moment of tense silence occurs with nothing but the sound of the saber buzzing.

"F-Fuuuuuuck . . . " Titus exhales the slow curse as he stares at the famous crossguard sword that had won the galaxy the year he was born. The boy is impressed. "You're Kylo Ren!" he crows with candid excitement. Then Titus glances over to severely frowning Rey and quickly amends. "I mean E-Emperor Ren . . . uh . . . Sir . . . uhm . . . Lord?" The boy's voice cracks and his words end awkwardly on an up note. The boy cringes a little but nonetheless adds in as deep a voice as he can manage, "Cool sword. It looks way better in person."

There is another moment of tense silence. Then the Sith surprises everyone when he throws back his head to laugh out loud. "Oh, you are my son," Kylo grins. "Of that, there can be no doubt." And finally, this is a side of Kylo that Rey remembers. The Sith who exults his clan and reveres its lore. The man with an ironic, sarcastic sense of humor.

"Uh . . . what?" Titus's eyes narrow.

"Welcome home, kid," Kylo is very smug. "I guess it's my turn to say this. It's tradition now after three generations, I suppose."

"Kylo, don't—" Rey whispers. "Not here. Not now."

"Yes. Here. Now. I want you to be present to hear this, Rey. So he will know it is true." Kylo regards with approval the bruised and battered kid who is trying his best to posture like he's got it all under control. "Titus, your mother may have lied to you but I will not. Sith do not lie. Remember that."

"Kylo, please—"

The Sith ignores her. Looking their boy squarely in the eye, Kylo announces, "Titus, I am your father. Your real father."

The youth blinks at this news. The dramatic revelation does not even register as truth at first. And her clueless son has no concept of its consequences. "My real father is dead. He died in the war before I was born."

"Oh, he's not dead. Not yet." Kylo smirks openly and then adds, "Not ever."

"But my father died fighting on Coruscant." Titus looks over to her and Cade for confirmation. "Right? He was First Order. I . . . uh . . . think . . . Right, Mom?" When Rey doesn't immediately answer, Titus begins to gape. "R-Right?" he whispers as suspicion dawns.

Kylo's sword is still buzzing in his hand. He twirls it with a flourish before raising it eye level to the boy. Titus just stares at it in morbid fascination, more curious than threatened.

"Well, Rey?" Kylo prompts her.

"I'm sorry, Titus." Rey takes a deep breath before she hangs her head in shame. "It's true. Emperor Ren is your father."

"Ohhhh . . ." the boy recoils from this news. Then he looks from Kylo to Rey and back again. "Oh, shit, Mom! Why didn't you tell me?"

Scowling over to her now, Kylo demands, "Did you ruin him? Rey, tell me now if you have ruined our son like Skywalker ruined you."

"Ruined?" Rey doesn't initially understand the question.

"My real dad isn't dead?" Titus is processing the news real time. "My real dad is Kylo Ren?" The boy keeps staring at the sword in his face as he mutters his stream of consciousness thoughts aloud, "That sword is so cool . . . "

"Titus is no threat to you!" Rey declares, fearing for her innocent, artless son. "Kylo, he is no threat to you—"

"Wrong," the Sith decrees. "There was a boy raised in the desert who was no threat to anyone until he blew up a Death Star and slew two Sith."

"He's not your enemy—"

"That's what the Jedi thought when they bought a boy out of slavery," Kylo reminds her coolly. "That boy was their greatest hero until he was slaughtering them all in their temple. Enemies look like friends sometimes, Rey. And if you're in my family and you have been raised in hiding, chances are you're my enemy."

"Lower that sword!" Rey wails. Tears are dripping down her face now. "Or point it at me! Kylo, I'm the one you're angry at."

"Don't flatter yourself," Kylo drawls. "This isn't about you, Rey. You were dead to me years ago." Again, this older version of Kylo is cold. Remote and controlled. All the intensity of his one-time passion for her has dissipated, Rey realizes. She could be any woman now. His indifference is the ultimate rejection and, unexpectedly, it hurts.

Rey starts babbling now. "I didn't teach him to hate you. I didn't teach him anything about you! Or anything about the Force." She falters now. "I didn't think I would have to . . . I hoped you would never find out . . . "

"You fool!" Kylo jeers. "How arrogant to think that you could subvert the Force!" Kylo now sounds very much like she remembers Snoke. He jabs a gloved finger at her. "You knew better, Rey."

He's right, she realizes with a start. Dark meets Light for a reason, she remembers old Darth Plagueis teaching. And so, this awful confrontation is the reason the fates have conspired against her. Kylo always said that the Skywalkers were destiny in the making. And so generation after generation, the Force reunites the Chosen Ones to try yet again to fulfill the prophecy. Often at inopportune times and with maximum calamity. Rey knows well the blood-soaked history of this deadly clan. The most dangerous place in the universe is standing between a Skywalker and their kin. And that's where she and Cade are now.

Kylo's eyes trace a path from her to Cade to Titus as he considers a long moment. Then, he deactivates his sword. Turning to her husband, Emperor Ren declares, "I am a just man. If her claims are true, then you will go free, Biggs. But if you are an accomplice, then I will kill you myself. For no one takes what is mine."

"Kylo, he is innocent!" Rey staunchly maintains.

"We shall see . . . we shall see. Go now," Kylo commands to Cade. "Rejoin your party and have your moment of glory. I will know where to find you should I need to kill you."

Cade nods fearfully and then he asks, "What about Titus?"

"Titus is my son." The Emperor's voice is acid. "That boy is the great-great grandson of Emperor Palpatine, the great-grandson to Darth Vader, and my son. He is the heir to two Empires and the next Skywalker. He stays with me."

"Yes, of course," her husband stammers in quick response to this rebuke. Cade looks now with clear regret across at the boy he helped to raise from infancy. Then he swallows hard and nods. "Yes, of course. That is fitting. And Rey?" he dares to ask. "What about my wife?" Cade is eyeing at her now like she is a threatening stranger to him. But he is a loyal husband to the end. "Let me take my wife home."

Kylo's face hardens. His voice is a harsh dismissal. "She is part of this kidnapping plot and a traitor. Take her away!" With a wave of his hand, troopers rush to surround her. Someone slaps cuffs on her wrists while another trooper jabs his blaster into her back. Then they drag towards an exit.

"Mom! Wait!" Titus cries while Cade Biggs looks on in stone faced silence. "Mom!"

Rey twists around to look back at them for as long as she can before she is ushered from the room


	6. Chapter 6

Rey is pacing as Kylo stomps into her cell. She's clearly expecting him. Her expression and the Force reveal that she's spoiling for a fight. In the hour he's made her wait, Rey has gone from scared and upset to livid.

Well, bring it on. Because he too is lusting for a brawl. This is the woman who broke his heart and ruined his future. He has a few things to say to her now in private. Mostly, Kylo wants to hurt Rey like she has hurt him. To take something crucial from her like she has from him. So he decides that he will stick to his plan. He will take her husband and their son from Rey, the way she once robbed him of the wife and son she and Titus were supposed to be. Now Rey will be the one alone with regrets. It's poetic justice delivered by Darth Ren the Just himself. Payback is a bitch on the Dark Side.

"Where is Titus?" Rey demands hotly. "What have you done with him?"

He ignores her questions, choosing instead to launch his own attack. "For years, I worried that the Force would strike back at me for killing you. Little did I know that you were alive. In hiding with our son! First, you ruined our love. Then, you ruined our family! Do you have any idea what you have taken from me?" Kylo snarls.

"Taken from you?" Rey echoes in patent disbelief. "You tried to kill me and our unborn son! You don't get to claim now that you are the wronged party—"

"I had a right to know!" he growls through gritted teeth. "I am his father!"

"You forfeited your rights with your violence!" Rey hollers back.

"Children need fathers," Kylo informs her curtly. He knows this from his own miserable misspent youth with a largely absent Han Solo. "That loser husband of yours is a poor excuse for a father. He doesn't know how to handle our kid at all."

"Cade loves Titus!" Rey snaps back.

And she is missing the whole point. Because anyone who separates the Skywalkers is damned. Ask Bail and Breha Organa. Ask Owen and Beru Lars. Ask Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The universe wants the Chosen Ones united together and it deals harshly with those who interfere. "Did Snoke teach you nothing?" he complains. "Rey, you can't stop destiny! Neither you nor anyone else come before you can stop a Skywalker. It takes a Skywalker to kill one of our own." And, actually, that's usually how it turns out.

"I don't want to kill you," Rey has her hands on her hips as she scowls up at him. "I just want to live my life free of you. And I want my son to grow up to choose his own path in life. I won't let you brainwash him into a monster like youself—"

"My son! He's my son now, Rey! Not yours." Kylo looks her over again with contempt. Trying hard to ignore her blazing Light and her considerable beauty. He refuses to acknowledge this woman's allure. "I hate that hair," he decides. "I hate that blonde hair. It's so not you, Rey."

Rey ignores his opinion. "Where is Cade? What have you done with my husband?"

"Biggs back at his party stewing. I haven't decided yet what to do with him," Kylo smirks. "It depends how guilty he is."

Rey looks him in the eye and swears yet again, "He doesn't know a thing. I lied to him about everything. About you and about Titus. About my entire past. Cade Biggs is innocent, Kylo. Let him go!"

"Prove it," Kylo goads her.

"What?"

"Show me now." He raises a gloved hand towards her face. Her eyes widen as she comprehends his meaning. Rey takes an involuntary step back. "Prove his innocence and Cade Biggs can go free as promised."

"N-No . . . " Rey makes to dart to the side but Kylo anticipates her, catching her and walking her back fast to the cell wall. "N-No!" She's squirming so he pins her hard, his body leaning deep into hers. He has her wrists clasped in his grip and spread wide against the wall. Wary for Force tricks, Kylo is anxious to make the connection. So he summons his full power and thrusts his mind into hers.

"O-O-Ohhhh!" Rey cries out in pain. He enjoys it. For Kylo wants Rey to suffer like he has suffered. Physical touch always promotes the connection, so he leans in closer still. They are cheek to cheek. Rey's eyes are closed as she is gasping and panting. But he is methodical and calm. Determined.

"Stoooop! Oh, Gods, stop!" she wails. "Get out! Get out of my head!"

And that only eggs him on. "You can't stop me," he whispers his words into her ear even as his mind shares them with hers. "You know I can take whatever I want." As if to demonstrate, he pulls back from their mental connection only to thrust himself deep into her mind again. Kylo buries himself there as she screams. He blocks out the current moment as he dives deep into her past. Shuffling back years and years.

 _Rey stands clustered with her Kuat coworkers around a screen to watch the historic holonet broadcast of he and Nestor declaring the war over._ _Some guy next to Rey grouses, "Well, I guess this means layoffs._ _Sorry, Rey, but it's last hired, first fired around here._ _Have you got another job?"_ _Yes, she does._ _Rey babysits and keeps house on the side for Cade Biggs on the weekends when he has custody of his two kids._ _Biggs agrees to let Rey stay temporarily as she looks for new work now that she has lost her dormitory housing at Kuat._ _When his ex-wife hears about the young, hot and fun babysitter, she retaliates by dumping the kids on Biggs full time._ _No problem._ _Biggs hires Rey on as his live-in_ _housekeeper and nanny._ _Now Rey is doing the school run and taking kids to the park and to the dentist._ _She's basically Biggs' sex-less wife._

 _That only lasts a few months until Rey makes the first move._ _She's six months pregnant with his kid and full of hormones when Biggs catches her crying alone in her room._ _He pulls her into a fatherly hug but Rey doesn't recognize a non-sexual touch since the only hug or kiss she has ever received is from him._ _So when Biggs takes her in his arms, Rey pulls him down into a searing, hungry kiss._ _Biggs extricates himself gracefully, telling Rey that he's far too old for her._ _It's true, but it doesn't seem to matter because Rey's kiss plants a seed._ _After a month of exchanging glances, Rey is back in Biggs' arms and at seven months pregnant she's on her knees sucking his dick._ _S he's very worried about her future, terrified about the upcoming birth, and desperate to please._ _If she gets fired now, she doesn't know what she'll do._

Kylo loses focus now. Rey is moaning now beneath him, thrashing her head about. "Stop fighting me," he whispers. "Give in to me." And once again, the Sith Master overpowers her mind.

 _The baby is born and Rey and Biggs are fucking for real by the time the kid gets his first tooth._ _Now, Rey is Biggs' wife in all but name._ _He's worried about the optics and wants to get married._ _And now Rey is wife #2 and most everyone thinks his kid is Biggs' even though the boy is fair skinned._ _Normally, Biggs would face some social scrutiny for marrying the nanny who is half his age, but everyone gives Biggs a pass because they know his first wife left him._ _Poor Cade Biggs has a broken heart and everyone including Rey knows it._

 _Rey sets herself to becoming the model upper-class corporate wife._ _She gets the expensive clothes and high maintenance looking hair and makeup._ _She's driving Kuat's latest prototype speeder and volunteering on charity committees._ _But behind the scenes, Rey is painstakingly correcting her upbringing._ _She helps the kids with their homework, but really she is learning along with them._ _Biggs catches her reading the kids' textbooks now and then but says nothing._ _Rey takes cooking classes because she's determined that her son not grow up with her limited nutrition._ _She forces herself out of her comfort zone to try to make friends with the other school moms._ _And little by little through the years, Rey gains the polish that matches her crisp Coruscant accent._

 _When in doubt, Rey mimics what she remembers of Cesi Flick's smooth social confidence._ _She fakes it just like she used to fake her princess routine._ _Like she fakes it in bed twice a week with Cade Biggs._ _No one is the wiser._ _This survivor girl is a chameleon of sorts, shifting fast to outwardly fit into her new world._ _But inside, she is the same bundle of insecurities and strengths Kylo remembers._ _Because you can take the girl out of Jakku, but you can't take the Jakku out of the girl._

In the present, Rey has stopped demanding and now she is pleading. "P-Please, Kylo, please. Please s-stop . . . " But of course, he doesn't. Kylo is mesmerized by what he sees. He might have avoided looking at her full intel file, but this personal, intimate past is different. Kylo simply cannot look away.

 _Cade Biggs keeps climbing the corporate ladder and a beautiful, young and charming wife is an asset when it comes to dinners with Board members and key clients._ _With the First Order as Kuat's major customer, there is a lot of entertaining to do._ _Rey offers to spend time with the female spouses as a way to covertly avoid running into high ranking officers who might remember her._ _So Rey is shopping and lunching with generals' wives who tag along with their husbands for business trips._ _There aren't many perks as a First Order wife and so Rey is generous with the company's expense account._ _That just helps to ensure that Cade Biggs is the first call the procurement guys make when they want to commission a_ _new capital ship._ _It's not long before wunderkind Biggs is the heir apparent to the soon-to-retire Kuat CEO._

 _Biggs is work obsessed and in Rey he finds a wife who welcomes his shop talk._ _She and Biggs talk on and on about mechanics and Rey becomes his behind-the-scenes chief engineer._ _A friendly argument about the best looking one-man fighter ends in Biggs proposing that they build their own Clone Wars Z-95 starfighter based on some old plans in the Kuat archives._ _Because that's the sort of geeky thing these two techies do for fun._ _Rey works on it in her spare time at the shipyards where the company fabricates her parts._ _Six months later, she has a pristine replica but with completely modern state-of-the-art mechanics inside._ _Biggs is ridiculously proud of his wife's tinkering hobby so he shows it to a wealthy collector who is visiting the shipyard._ _The collector makes Biggs an offer to buy Rey's replica and that's how the Rey Series is born._ _Every year since then, Rey and her team have produced a unique modernized replica of an iconic starship._

Rey is sliding down the wall now and Kylo follows her, catching her as she sags limp against him. There is no fight left in his scavenger girl. Kylo lays her gently on the floor, straddling her as he leans forward on to her chest to keep their cheek-to-cheek pose. Somehow, it feels right to be this physically close to her as he uncovers the private details of her secret life.

 _Rey and Biggs settle into a deep mutual affection._ _He's part father and part husband to Rey._ _She's the mother figure his kids need and the corporate wife he wants._ _Plus, Rey is young and hot and happy to_ _indulge anything he wants in the bedroom._ _Biggs isn't in love with her and Rey knows it._ _The first wife who broke his heart pretty much soured Biggs on love._ _But still, the man is a faithful husband and devoted father and an all-around good guy._

 _For her part, Rey isn't in love either._ _Rey is more terrified than ever about love._ _Two men have loved her._ _The first was Army Hux and he turned on her and tried to sell her out to the Resistance._ _The second was Kylo Ren and he tried to kill her._ _So Rey has pretty much sworn off romantic love._ _Her feelings for Biggs are a complicated mix of gratitude, admiration and devotion._ _She is her husband's constant cheerleader and uncomplaining wife._ _Through it all, the Biggs household is a happy place that chugs along school year to summer to school year._ _Time flies by for this busy family._

Kylo feels wetness on his cheek and realizes that Rey is crying. Tears leak out from beneath her closed lids. He wipes then away gently. They always used to be in each other's minds during sex, and so all this mental intimacy has Kylo suddenly remembering better times. Times when he loved her. Times when his touch meant pleasure and not pain.

 _Rey thinks of him now and then and the usual emotion that accompanies it is fear._ _She's very afraid that she will be discovered and even more afraid that their son will be discovered._ _More than anything, Rey fears being discovered in the Force._ _And so, she thinks up every excuse to refuse to travel to Coruscant even though her supposed ex-lover Sayeed Hasan is long dead._ _Rey even manages to keep Titus home from the annual school trip to the capital world, knowing of course that the boy's strong Force imprint might attract his attention._

 _For her part, Rey never uses the Force._ _She too afraid to._ _Rey also makes a conscious choice to raise her son completely ignorant of the Force._ _She's aware that Titus taps into the Force unconsciously now and then._ _And she recognizes that his childhood nightmares are visions._ _But she never lets on._ _When Titus complains that he hears voices, Rey dismisses his claims._ _And when he tells her he can sometimes tell what people are thinking, Rey discourages him altogether._ _Here then, Kylo sees, is the source of his boy's discontent._ _For if his son has inherited his father's natural talent for mind reading, then poor Titus must know just how lowly he is thought of by his teachers and peers._ _And that's a lot for a boy to handle._ _Misguided Rey thinks that's she protecting Titus._ _B ut in reality, she is making him miserable._

There are more than tears now, there is blood. It's the telltale consequence of his prolonged mental assault. How long has he been doing this? Kylo is not sure actually. It's hours though, and not minutes. And though Rey has long since stopped resisting him, his efforts have left their mark. Good, he tells himself. He wants her to suffer.

 _On the whole, Rey lives a life of ease and comfort._ _By day, she's a mom on the go running kids around between volunteer meetings and time at the shop._ _By night, she's out to fancy dinners and cocktail parties mixed in with soccer games and kids' slumber parties._ _And actually, Rey prefers the soccer games and slumber parties._ _Rey Biggs intentionally keeps a low social profile._ _She is never attention seeking._ _Rey learns to bluff her way through most every social situation, with few awkward mistakes._ _Luckily, she never receives much scrutiny._ _For as Cade Biggs' wife, Rey gets the benefit of the doubt._ _Plus, she has that friendly smile and girlish charm._ _So if Rey never went to some famous landmark on Coruscant she ought to have been familiar with, or if she doesn't know some literary reference any college graduate learns, it goes right past most people._ _Yes, Rey missed her calling for she might have been a very convincing actress._

When finally Kylo pulls back from her mind, it's clear that Rey has long since faded into unconsciousness. Kylo knows that he should have stopped sooner, but in truth he had been captivated by all that he had seen. And he had become more and more curious the longer he had eavesdropped. For here was the normal life Rey had always wanted. Well, not exactly normal. More like a superluxe sort of normal. And it was a blended family and that too had been a little different from the storybook version of a typical life. But his scavenger girl had gotten most of what she wanted in the end. A low key and accommodating husband. A house full of children. Enough charitable works, social events, and household tasks to keep her busy. Plus, her pet project Rey Series ships to serve as a creative outlet and a source of pride. All this, and Rey has no worries about credits. It's a lovely conventional life all built on a bold lie.

Yes, Rey has made this all too easy for him, Kylo thinks. For Cade Biggs had completely believed that Rey had fled from the abusive father of her child, the Seventh Knight of Ren Sayeed Hasan. A man dead in a random weapons accident ten years ago who Rey still convincingly playacts paranoia about.

It's annoying for Kylo to watch all Rey's personal growth through the years. To witness all that surreptitious education and culture. For now his feral orphan hosts dinner parties and goes to the ballet. She's a gourmet cook and something of an accidental fashion plate. It rankles that it took Rey leaving him in order for her to come into her own. Ironically, all her time spent first as the Sith princess and then Mrs. CEO has made Rey his ideal Empress. She's everything Kylo knew she could become. Only she's not his Empress, she's Cade Biggs' wife. For now, at least.

The more Kylo thinks about it all, the more it angers him. He resents that Rey has lived content in ease and comfort while he himself has struggled on and off with his responsibilities and his Darkness. It bothers him that Rey has mostly managed to avoid use of the Force. That she has hidden it completely from their son. And it hurts that Rey loves Cade Biggs. It's not a passionate love affair, more like comfortable companionship. But it's far more commitment and care than Kylo himself had ever received from Rey. Truth be told, he might have settled for half of that affection had it been offered.

Kylo looks down now at Rey laying beneath him. Eyes closed, mouth slack, and hair wild. The telltale hemorrhage from her nose and ears bears witness to her struggle. So does her fancy court dress that is twisted high and hopelessly askew. He wipes a gentle hand across her mouth to clear it of seeping blood, dragging a thumb across the lips he used to kiss. That small intimacy urges him on to more, and now that same hand snakes down the curve of her throat to wander over her breasts. Rey is a mature woman now and not a teenaged girl. With a modest busom filled out from childbearing and years of consistent food. His hand trails further down across her waist to trace the flare of her hips. Rey will never be a robust woman, but she's sporting far more curves than he remembers. And when he reaches to stroke at her exposed thigh, there is an inviting pillowy slackness that he doesn't recall.

For a moment Kylo relives haunting memories of his lips and his body buried between those thighs. But resolutely he pushes aside that temptation. He doesn't need Rey for sex and he's lived without her Light for years now just fine. He won't be drawn back into this woman's snare. Once was enough. Still . . . if he squints his eyes, Kylo can see vestiges of the skinny, sunburnt brunette he first met. But this beautiful woman with velvety golden skin and tawny blonde hair seems a far different person than the girl he had once loved. All the changes, he sees, are more than skin deep.

She's still young. Kylo wonders if she feels young. He doesn't. He ceased to feel young years ago. At forty-five, Kylo Ren is just entering his prime. But he won't kid himself—the days of relentless drive, boundless ambition, and stubborn optimism are far behind him. He has long since stopped believing that all things are possible. Experience has tempered his expectations.

He has arrived now at the stage in life he spent his youth preparing for. And it's not quite all it had seemed. Of course, it was never in his nature to be wild and carefree. Kylo knows he was born the serious intense type. Well, maybe he was wild and carefree once. In fleeting snatches of time carved out from war when he would steal away to meet a pretty scavenger girl on Jakku.

But that is the past for them both now, he sees. And that's probably for the best. They have hurt one another enough, he decides. Nestor, as always, was right. This is about his boy now. Years ago, Kylo had accepted his failure with Rey and moved on. But he refuses to accept failure with his own son. For far too much depends on the continuation of the Skywalker Sith. Indeed, even the future of the Force itself. For now that Darth Ren the Just will not be the one to bring balance to the Force, his young son will inherit that burden.

Looking down at the woman he once thought was key to it all, Kylo resolves to keep her. He will lock Rey away in his palace so that he can feel the constant comfort of her Light. But that's all it will ever be. She was dead to him for years and that's how she will remain. He will not be Darth Plagueis, chasing the dream of a long dead love. Instead, he will focus on his son. Kylo vows to keep his focus on the future and not the past. And so, he leans forward to kiss Rey's blood smeared lips. It's a kiss of goodbye, full of regret.

When he exits the cell, Kylo beckons over the detention officer on duty. "My wife will be here permanently. She is to be treated like any other prisoner," he instructs.

The man's eyes go wide at the word 'wife' but he does not ask any questions along that line. This officer's concerns are purely pragmatic. "Permanently, Sir? But this is a holding cell. Shall I arrange to transfer her to the facility on Chandrila?"

"No. She stays here. In this cell. Consider her to be a dangerous flight risk. Have two men with Force pikes outside this door at all times. Two more at the exit to this hallway. Tell them to shoot to kill."

"Force pikes, Sir?"

"Yes, my wife has the Force and she briefly trained as a Jedi. She will try to mind trick her way out of here, so be careful about who stands guard. No weak-minded fools, Lieutenant." Kylo thinks a moment and then adds, "She is also very mechanically adept. Do not give her any utensils she could use against us. She is creative with makeshift tools," he advises, recalling the impressive ingenuity of the scavenger girl from Jakku.

"Yes, Sir. Any privileges, Sir?"

"None. Permanent solitary confinement."

"Yes, Sir."

"Do not bother me about her. Vanee will manage her going forward. He has authority on all day to day matters."

"Yes, Sir."


	7. Chapter 7

Kylo finds faithful old Vanee waiting in his private office with a pair of guards and the stone-faced Cade Biggs. The party at the Senate Rotunda ended over an hour ago. Now Biggs awaits his sentence. Kylo marches in sans mask and immediately shrugs out of his voluminous Sith cloak. It has Rey's blood on it near the collar. Kylo is far more fastidious these days than he was back in his younger years when he would march around in a tattered cowl and muddy boots. Appearances matter, he now knows, and the Emperor of the galaxy does not walk around in bloody garments like some butcher.

Vanee accepts the cloak with a deep bow. Then he looks at Kylo's face and begs his indulgence, "One moment please, Master."

As Vader's old caretaker disappears, Kylo turns to dismiss the guards. "Leave us. This man is not in custody. He is our guest." Kylo is expecting Cade Biggs to look relieved at this news, but the man looks as wretched as ever. Maybe even more so. And now, Kylo follows Biggs' gaze first to his face and then to his hands that are sticky with more of Rey's blood. He had overdone it with the duration of the interrogation. As a result, Rey had hemorrhaged more than typical. It's harmless-little more than a prolonged nosebleed. Still, looking down at his bloodstained hands, Kylo feels a pang of regret. Rarely does he feel remorse, for he is Kylo Ren and he has the blood of billions on his hands. But this is different because this is Rey.

Once, he had sworn never again to hurt his Rey.

Kylo pushes that thought out of his mind as Vanee reappears to offer a hot towel. Kylo methodically scrubs clean his face and his gloves and then hands it back. "Send a medic droid down to our princess, Vanee. She will be in custody here permanently." Kylo glances over at Biggs and explains. "It is for her own protection. I'm afraid that Rey cannot be trusted to look after herself." Kylo turns back to Vanee to resume his instructions. Vader's old caretaker has authority for everything within his palace walls, whereas Milo represents him on all personal matters outside the palace. Therefore, Rey will be under Vanee's charge. "Look after her, Vanee. As a member of the family, the princess is your responsibility. The guards have my orders."

"Yes, Master."

"Where is my son?" Titus is here in the palace close by, Kylo knows. For he can sense him in the Force.

"Milo is with him, Master. He is being looked after."

"Good. Ask Milo to send me a lawyer tomorrow morning first thing. Thank you, Vanee. Goodnight."

"Yes, Master."

As Vanee bows and retreats, Kylo crosses the room to yank the stopper off the bourbon carafe. He pours two generous glasses. Then he hands a glass to the grim looking Biggs and bids the man to follow him out on his office balcony.

It has become Kylo's habit to spend time out here in the evenings. Tonight, as every night, the new Coruscant is bustling with speeders and transports filling the skies. All the towering buildings up here on the Upper Level are softly lit, some with multicolor lights. Altogether, it's an urban kaleidoscope that Darth Ren is proud of. This is his home world and it had been important to him that Coruscant rise from the ashes of war to once again be beautiful.

After looking his fill, Kylo glances over at the duped man at his side. Rey's lies have provided an excellent opportunity to split her and Biggs up without Kylo making himself the bad guy. In the end, Rey will only have herself to blame for the implosion of her family with Biggs. And so, Kylo starts massaging the facts of Rey's past to fit his ends. Shading the truth here and there to fit his purposes. Because though Sith do not outright lie about meaningful things, they are nonetheless experts at deception. And, really, this is more like a revision of the past that Kylo plans to have the lawyers paper over to make true anyhow. So these aren't big lies so much as they are pre-truths, he rationalizes.

This is Kylo's new modus operandi. He has worked hard over recent years to refine his skill at guile. To supersede the brutish wartime reputation earned in his youth. For in time of peace, this Sith prefers to destroy through less overt means. Sure, he still calls in airstrikes on his enemies from time to time. But more often these days, Kylo prides himself on discrediting them. Or supplanting them. Or having them turn on one another to do his dirty work for him. With the teachings of his late Master in mind and the experienced cunning of old Milo to draw upon, Kylo Ren has come into his own as a true mastermind Sith. Controlling others with sleight of hand, well-placed rumors, or the well-timed threat. These days, Emperor Ren incriminates with graft, traps with blackmail, and humiliates with embarrassing secrets exposed. None of it, of course, traceable back to the palace.

"Go ahead, drink up," Kylo gestures over at Biggs. "You could use a drink. This is not how you thought this day would go, I'm sure."

"No, it wasn't," Rey's erstwhile husband admits. If Biggs thinks it strange to be drinking late at night with the unmasked Emperor Sith who just hours ago threatened to kill him, he doesn't let on. Instead, coolheaded Biggs takes a drink and sputters a bit at the sharp, strong liquor. "My loss is your gain, it seems," the man says glumly.

Kylo himself takes a long drink. Then, he shakes his head in mock sympathy. For perception is everything in deception, as old Snoke used to teach. And Kylo needs this guy to like him in order to trust him. "Biggs, we are both losers in this," he concludes. "There's a kid down the hall who is lost and scared. His life up until now has been a lie. And though I have my runaway wife back, she's in a cell downstairs." Kylo looks Biggs in the eye. "You're losing a wife and a son. And you have two more kids at home, right? I suppose they are losing a mother of sorts and a brother." Kylo sighs heavily and looks away. "This is how it is with Rey. She leaves a lot of collateral damage."

"Did you beat her?" Biggs demands outright. "Was that her blood on your face and hands?"

"Cade Biggs, I do not beat my women." Kylo feigns offense. "I read her mind. It was necessary in order to discover the truth. You and I both know that Rey cannot be trusted to tell the truth. She resisted me. Rey knows better, but she can be stubborn like that. When she resists me, it hurts and it causes a mild hemorrhage. It's nothing serious. More like a nosebleed. It looks far worse than it is."

"So you hurt her? She is hurt?"

"Biggs, she was resisting so that she could protect herself. She would rather hide her lies from me than exonerate you. That's how faithless Rey can be." Kylo nods approvingly now at the man at his side. "You are innocent in all of this, Biggs. I saw that in her memories. She had you completely fooled."

"I believed everything she told me," the man whispers hoarsely and Kylo can tell Biggs feels like a fool. So, the Sith claps the poor dupe on the back and starts unloading more lies.

"She really played you. Biggs, I don't fault you for what happened. Rey is very convincing." Kylo stops and pretends to think for a moment. "I think it's because she truly believes the stories she concocts. They become reality to her. You are not the first man Rey has conned for her own uses. Though I suppose she fooled you the longest." Kylo looks ruefully over at Biggs. "You must have made her happy for her to stick around so long. When she didn't surface for over a decade, I had just assumed that Rey was dead. That we had killed her in the final purge of the Resistance."

Cade Biggs nods, but clearly he's a bit suspicious. "Why did you try to kill her? Was it because she ran away?"

"Is that what she told you?" Kylo scoffs. "I never tried to kill Rey. She tried to kill me. When it didn't work, she got scared and ran." Kylo now slides off the glove covering his right hand to reveal the mechanical prosthetic beneath. He raises it up to display. "Rey did permanent damage. Just not deadly damage like she had hoped."

Cade Biggs recoils. "Rey did that?" He sounds disbelieving. Of course, he is disbelieving. Because the woman Biggs knows doesn't get angry or lash out. She's too busy being happy all the time in her perfect life with her perfect family, Kylo thinks with resentment.

"After she cut my hand off, Rey stole a TIE Silencer prototype your company had delivered. She was running back to the Resistance again. Only this time, they thought she was the enemy and shot her up. After that, Rey was afraid to jump home to the First Order. So she jumped to Kuat and concocted a scheme to fake her own death. That's when you met her, I saw."

Cade Biggs chews this over a moment. "I saw a full squadron of TIEs destroy her disabled ship with my own eyes."

Kylo nods. "Yes, the ship they destroyed was devoid of lifeforms and transmitting secrets to the Resistance at the time. We knew Rey wasn't on it when it was destroyed. We thought she had jumped ship and set it to autopilot as a decoy. She had used that ruse once before."

Again, Biggs has a follow-up. It's respectfully said, but his skepticism is showing nonetheless. "Rey was beat up when we found her. Her head was bashed in. Later, we found that she had a pretty severe concussion and had been unconscious awhile."

Kylo again pretends offense. "It wasn't from me. Cade Biggs, I do not beat my wife. I've never laid a hand on Rey. Even tonight, when she shows up unannounced after years living with another man." His tone is righteous enough to make Luke Skywalker proud, Kylo hopes. "Trust me, it was tempting to hurt her. And, in war, it's true that I can be a cruel man. But this is not war and neither she nor you are my enemy."

His words have the desired effect and Biggs looks dutifully chastised now. But still, he keeps gently prodding for facts. It's no wonder this man has been so successful in business, Kylo realizes. Cade Biggs is neither easily intimidated nor deterred. "You keep calling her your wife. Are you and Rey married?"

"Oh, yes," Kylo nods. "Rey and I married on the Starkiller years ago." He gives an ugly little laugh. Then he looks away and takes another long drink. "Both the weapon and my marriage imploded over time. The Resistance destroyed them both." And, of course, the wary Biggs isn't following. So Kylo keeps spinning his tale.

"Rey got herself kidnapped by Luke Skywalker during the war. The Jedi brainwashed her. Ruined her, really. He filled Rey's head with lies and took advantage of her teenaged rebelliousness. The Jedi were manipulative like that." Kylo's voice hardens as he speaks of his much-hated Uncle Luke. "Skywalker confused her. Rey was perfectly happy until the Jedi taught her to hate her family and to fear me. She was never the same after that. Rey would be fine for months and then do strange and unpredictable things she thought would help the Resistance. She was really torn between both sides. It all culminated when she tried to kill me." Kylo purses his lips and swears under his breath for effect. "Rey was so young and impressionable when Skywalker got a hold of her. Biggs, she was barely nineteen at the time. Snoke and I had mostly sheltered her from the war. But the Jedi put her right in the middle of it. She spent months living with him at the Resistance until I found her at their outpost on Kardura and took her home."

"So Rey really was with the Resistance?" Biggs looks disheartened at this prospect. Because, of course, the Kuat CEO's wife really ought not to have a Resistance past. Putting the general post-war combatant amnesty aside, that's not something his Board can overlook.

"Rey didn't actually fight for the Resistance," Kylo drops in a nugget of exculpatory truth into his tale. "Rey ran supplies for them while she trained with the Jedi to kill me. Skywalker was using Rey for her Force power. He knew that her relationship to me would get her close enough to kill me. And in the end, she made a good attempt." The Sith shakes his head in derision. Then he pounds the rest of his drink. "Killing the Jedi was the best thing I have ever done. He had a lot to answer for. Poor Rey was a pawn, Biggs. She was his latest victim in his vendetta against our family. When Skywalker got what he wanted, he would have crushed her."

Kylo makes a face now. For it occurs to him that he wishes this tale were strict truth. Because then it would explain Rey's actions and soften her rejection.

"After I rescued her from Skywalker, Rey kept running back to the Resistance. She seduced General Hux under Leader Snoke's nose while we were busy with the Mid Rim campaign. Somehow, Rey convinced Army Hux to turn traitor and run away with her to the Resistance. They stole a ship and planned to tell all about our plan to invade the Core. It didn't work and Rey got Hux killed. After that, Rey got scared and fled."

"Wow . . . " This unexpected news floors Cade Biggs. "G-General Hux?" he wonders aloud at the unlikeliness of it all.

"Yes, none of us saw that one coming. Army Hux was the best man in our wedding. Back then, Hux, Nestor Flick and I were like brothers. It was . . . " Kylo pauses dramatically. "Well, it was quite a betrayal. Of our cause, of our marriage, of our friendship. It was also a terrible waste. Hux was a tactical genius. We needed him in the Core campaign." Kylo sighs and runs his mechanical hand through his hair. "Hux turning traitor broke his father's heart. We tried to hush it up but there were rumors for years. In the end, I blamed Rey and not Army. That's why I keep naming hospitals and schools after him. Because I like to remember the best of Armitage Hux and not the worst."

"Oh," Biggs says simply.

"Yeah, you're in good company, Biggs. If Rey can convince Army Hux to turn traitor, then she can convince anyone of anything." Kylo gives the man at his side another sympathetic glance. "That's why I thought you were probably innocent. Everything we knew about you said you were a good guy, Biggs. Conspiring with Rey would be very out of character for a man such as you."

But Biggs is still struggling to be loyal, it seems. "I still don't understand-why would she make all this up? Excellency, if you had been so forgiving to Rey in the past, why would she flee from the life of a princess even after Skywalker was gone and the war as over?"

"Truthfully, I don't know. Rey has the Force and she has never fully trained to use it. I think that's part of the problem," Kylo explains since the man he's speaking to is a layman of the Force. "The Force can make a person unstable at times. Back in the Old Republic days, the Jedi would take infants from their parents to raise them under the cult's control. They knew that the Force can be dangerous and can make a person behave erratically. That's why it is so important for Titus to live here with me. I need to teach my son to control the Force and to properly channel his emotions. Otherwise, his impulses may turn violent."

"He's had some trouble at school . . . " Biggs confesses unhappily.

"That's not surprising," Kylo allows, pretending he doesn't already know. "But it could become a real problem if it's not dealt with. And it's not just the Force that Titus has inherited. Biggs, mental illness runs in Rey's family. Her grandmother was expelled from the Jedi Order for drug use and mental instability."

Biggs nods but still loyally raises a soft rebuttal. "I have known Rey for over ten years and I have never known her to act unstable or flighty. She is very pragmatic usually."

"That's good." Rather than argue this point, Kylo endorses it. "That encourages me, Biggs. I want what's best for Rey. Don't get me wrong: I am very, very angry with her. But I still want what's best for her. In the end, I think that will be what's best for Titus too," Kylo posits. "Rey and I need to put aside our differences to do what's best for our boy." And Cade Biggs the family man nods along with this wisdom.

Now, Kylo changes tactics. He reaches into the pocket of his tunic and produces a datapad. Kylo punches open some files before handing it to Biggs. "Take a look at this." It is a large collection of pictures and PR footage of Princess Renata Palpatine. Some is from the First Order archives and some was pulled years ago from security camera footage on the _Finalizer_. Because while Kylo may have wiped all evidence of Rey from the holonet years ago, but he kept copies for himself. Mixed in among the fancy princess photos are even a few candid snaps from Rey's days living on the compound with the young Flick family.

Kylo stands looking over Biggs' shoulder as he peruses through the files. "Look how young she is there. She's eighteen? Maybe nineteen? Rey was only seventeen and underage when we married. Rey begged and pleaded and Leader Snoke finally gave his consent. He had wanted us to wait until the war was over but we were young and in love. Rey was too young, I see in hindsight. Far too immature for marriage. She didn't really understand the commitment she was making."

Kylo keeps watching as Biggs swipes past picture after picture. Here are he and Rey holding hands on the bridge of the _Finalizer_ both in their full regalia. Here they are walking down the ramp of his old black command shuttle. "Damn, we're just kids there," Kylo says softly. And at least this time, it's a sincere reaction. Kylo takes back the datapad and opens another file that has pictures of Rey during her mercy mission visits to the Coruscant detention camps. "Here," he tells Biggs, "These were taken about that same time. It was near the end of the Coruscant Siege. Rey was instrumental in the relief efforts. She also quietly helped in the off-and-on peace negotiations too." He snorts. "She knew General Dameron and his cronies from her time on the other side."

"She looks so different here," Biggs observes softly. "Like a real princess."

"She is a real princess. Actually, she's an Empress now, I guess. Wait—stop on that one." Biggs does as he is told and stops swiping. Kylo looks down at a candid silly selfie Rey must have taken next to him on the couch in his quarters on the _Finalizer_. His younger self isn't even looking at the camera—he's got his nose in a datapad. But Rey is sporting a toothy grin. She must have been sitting in his lap at the time. "Damn . . . " Kylo sighs aloud and his face is bleak. "That was so long ago." Truthfully, he hasn't looked at any of these pictures in many years. He had only dug them out recently. And even then, he hadn't opened the files. "It's like seeing a ghost." Only that ghost is alive and unconscious in a prison cell downstairs right now.

"She was the first girl I ever loved," Kylo confides to Biggs and he's not really sure why. And more accurately, Rey is the only girl he has ever loved. But he stays on message and sticks to his story. "She broke my heart. Over and over again with each betrayal. You ever get your heartbroken?" he asks Biggs, knowing full well the answer.

"Once. Well, maybe twice now."

"It fucking hurts."

"Agreed."

"I'm sorry for what has happened, Biggs. This is never how I wanted things to be." Kylo continues his strange mix of sincerity and lies. "I did not see this coming. Truly, I thought that Rey was dead. But at least she is home now where she belongs. And so is my son."

"Yeah . . . " Biggs sighs.

Kylo gives the man at his side a measuring look and then decides, "Would you like to see her tomorrow? It would give you a chance to confront Rey for the truth. She owes you an explanation."

"Yes, she does." And that quietly determined tone tells Kylo all he needs to know about the success of this conversation. For like Rey's lies, Cade Biggs has bought Kylo's tale hook, line and sinker. And that makes sense. After all, honest people-even prudent ones-tend to want to presume honesty in others.

"Ask her about anything—the Resistance, Skywalker, Hux, chopping off my hand. See what she says, Biggs. But don't be surprised if she tells a slightly different version of the past."

"I'll do that."

Yes, tomorrow is going to be a very uncomfortable interview for Rey, Kylo sees with satisfaction. With any luck, an ugly argument will ensue. The Sith continues now with his plot. "My lawyers will be in touch about the legalities of the situation. There will be a monetary settlement, of course. You've been paying for my family for years now, Biggs, and you deserve compensation. Feel free to have your own lawyers look over the paperwork to be certain you are satisfied. I want this all to be above board." Darth Ren the Just flashes an ironic smile. "I value fairness and transparency."

"Understood."

Emperor Ren now considers Rey's would-be husband. "She could have done a lot worse than you, Biggs. A lot worse. Thank you for taking good care of Rey and my boy. I will not forget this. You have indeed been a loyal subject of the Empire."

Biggs looks troubled but he dutifully responds, "Thank you, Excellency."

They are walking back inside to his office now when Kylo requests a favor. "When you are here tomorrow, I want you to meet with Titus. Let's give both you and my son some closure as well."

"Yes, Excellency."

Once Biggs is deposited on a transport back to his hotel for the night, Kylo returns to his office to pour himself another drink. He walks outside to brood on his balcony. It is a solitary celebration of sorts. For this Sith is well pleased with the day's work. Everything is proceeding exactly as he has planned. But while Kylo has won the opening skirmishes, he can't shake the feeling that he is on his way to yet another pyrrhic victory. Like winning the galaxy years ago, reclaiming his long-lost family promises to inflict a heavy toll on all involved, himself included.

He sighs now as he looks out on the glittering city world he had rebuilt from ashes. Wondering for a fleeting moment whether he could manage to rebuild his family after today. For this is never how he had imagined things to be. Probably not, Kylo concludes. Too much time has passed and too much has happened. And he's a realist these days. He knows life's limitations.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Kylo waits a full fifteen minutes before he inserts himself into Cade Biggs' conversation with his son. Emperor Ren breezes into the room knowing full well that his presence will have a chilling effect. And really, that's the point. These two need distance between them. "Carry on," Kylo instructs blithely as he seats himself at the table and pulls off his helmet. Rarely does he wear the helmet here within the private areas of his palace. But he has just come from meeting with his lawyers.

At his unannounced entrance, his boy outright blanches and immediately clams up. But the conversation soon restarts with a little gentle prodding from Biggs. All the while, his kid keeps sending furtive glances Kylo's way and his left knee keeps bouncing up and down with nervous energy. Kylo ignores it. He busies himself conducting his own covert inspection while he listens to his kid whine.

 _I'll always be a father to you, Titus, even if I'm not your real father._ _Even though you don't live with me._

 _What if I don't like it here?_ _I don't think I'm going to like it here._

 _You will._

 _What if I want to go home?_

 _This is your home now._ _We've been over this before._

 _This is because I get in too much trouble at school, right?_ _That's why you don't want me as a son anymore-_

 _Titus, you know that's not true._ _Now that we know that your real father is alive, we want you to get to know him._ _Emperor Ren can teach you things and give you opportunities that your mother and I can't._

 _Yeah?_ _Well, what if I don't like him?_ _What if he doesn't like me?_

 _Emperor Ren is your father._ _You should love and respect him._

 _But what about Mom?_

 _Titus, the matters between adults are not your concern._ _Malia and Sasha know that I cannot get along with their mother and that's why we divorced._

 _But you divorced her._ _You didn't put their mom in jail._ _No one does that._ _Who does that?_

 _Their mother didn't try to kill me, Titus._

 _Mom tried to-_ _Wait, what?_

 _Titus, this is something you should talk to your father about another time._

 _I don't understand why I can't go home and live with you and Mom again._ _Who's going to make my breakfast and take me to school?_

 _I'm sure there's someone here who can do that when summer is over._ _Listen, I know all this change is unexpected and hard, son . . . er . . . Titus._ _But we will all adjust._

 _If Mom gets to go home, why can't I go home?_

 _You mother will be staying here now. I'm the only one going home._

 _Shit-are you saying that you and Mom are getting a divorce?_

 _I'm not sure that your mother and I were ever legally married, to tell the truth._

 _Oh. But Mom will be here to make pancakes on Saturday mornings, right?_ _And to bring the snacks for soccer games?_ _We have a playoff game tomorrow night._ _I need to get back to Kuat for that._

 _Titus, you're going to have to be flexible._ _There will be a new school and a new soccer team probably._ _I doubt very much that you will be going back to Kuat._

 _I don't like this._ _I have a bad feeling about this._

Kylo listens a bit longer. This is running long and he's anxious to wrap it up. But he can't appear to rush anyone. For his part, Cade Biggs is doing as asked and helping to transition the boy. But the kid is balking. Mostly it's over stupid pretexts. The boy is afraid and feeling abandoned, Kylo sees. Finally, Biggs shuts down the discussion as kindly as possible. His boy looks ready to cry as Biggs gives him a brief hug. Then Milo appears to shepherd the boy away.

"That went about as well as could be expected," Kylo commends Biggs as they stand together in the hallway watching the boy trudge away.

Biggs says nothing.

"My staff will inform the Chancellor's office to fast track the annual contract renewal for Kuat. It was always a done deal so there is no reason for delay. This year the capital ship profit margin is a bit sweeter, I'm told." Kylo relays this news offhand as if it is a coincidence and not a direct result of the conversation he has just witnessed. Because Emperor Ren is never so base as to propose or confirm a quid pro quo, even if that is the effect.

"Thank you, Excellency."

"Rey will be along shortly. Vanee has gone to collect her." And true to his words, up marches a squad of stormtroopers with Rey in their midst and stately Vanee trailing behind. Rey's face has been wiped clean of makeup and blood. It now wears an expression that tells him to go to Hell. She is dressed in the loose shirt and baggy pull-on pants of a prisoner with the words 'IN CUSTODY' emblazoned on the front and back with the First Order medallion. Her feet are bare, Kylo sees, with pink toenails. Altogether, it is a bizarre sight compared to the primped and polished woman he first met last night in her finery.

"You're late." Kylo is displeased. He has been anxious for this confrontation between Rey and Biggs to occur. It's time to get on with it.

"We were delayed," the trooper squad leader answers apologetically. "The prisoner was uncooperative, Sir."

Rey looks sort of triumphant at this description.

Kylo sniffs. "What a surprise."

The lead trooper carries a plastic bag containing Rey's impressive jewelry that he hands to Biggs. "I believe it is all there. She put up a fight about the ring."

"Perhaps, she should keep it," Biggs immediately offers.

Kylo objects. "That will not be necessary." If Rey ever wears a wedding ring, it will be from him, Kylo decides.

"Yes, of course." Red faced Biggs automatically backs down.

"Good luck," Kylo tells Biggs man-to-man as he tucks his helmet under his arm and turns to leave. "You're going to need it once the tears start." The pitiful whining from his kid and now the arrival of Rey have him on edge. Kylo is ready to be gone.

"Excellency, you're not staying?" Biggs seems genuinely surprised.

"No. It would only add to the conflict. I will give you both your privacy. Say what you need to say to one another."

"Thank you," Biggs nods respectfully at this courtesy. "That is most generous of you."

He brushes off this gratitude. "You deserve the truth." Kylo ignores Rey entirely now as he sweeps past to leave.

"Running away, Kylo?"

It's Rey speaking sharply to him. Being noncooperative again. Plus, she's ruining his majestic exit. Kylo shouldn't stop, but he does. Grinding to a halt to whirl on her before witnesses. "I believe that you were the one who ran away."

Rey nods and does not dispute this point. Instead, she gets to the point. "Where is Titus? I want to see Titus."

"You've done enough damage to him with your lies, Rey. I'm not giving you a chance to do more."

"Where is my son? I want to see my son!" Rey is every inch an Empress as she commands him with her cultured voice, lifted chin, and steely look. Before any of the guards watching this exchange can think to stop her, Rey elbows them aside and brazenly marches forward to stand in his path.

"I believe Milo is going to enroll him in school today," Kylo informs her. "That's probably where he has gone."

"School? Really?" Rey looks so shocked and relieved at this news that it annoys him.

"Yes, school. He's twelve. He needs to go to school. You can't rule the galaxy without an education. You of all people should know that, Rey."

It's a low blow and Rey flushes. Her self-assurance seems to fade and her volume does too. "Yes. Of course." And now her brow is furrowed and her face concerned. Her eyes are red rimmed, Kylo notices for the first time. Probably from tears. "Kylo, please-don't hurt him," Rey says in a low voice. "Please don't hurt him. He's just a boy. Let him be."

And this too annoys Kylo. Rey has long thought him to be some sort of brutish lout. As if the sum total of his talents was violence. Well, he's a lot more than that, Kylo knows. Now, more so than ever. And, sure, he has no experience at being a parent. But he's not about to abuse his kid for Rey's misdeeds. And so, Kylo's words in response are succinct and to the point. "I don't blame him. I don't blame Biggs. I blame you."

She nods and suggests hopefully, "Then let Titus go back home with Cade. Let our boy live a normal life as a normal kid."

Kylo crosses his arms in his old Knight of Ren power stance. "You know I can't do that." There's no chance in Hell he will do that.

"Why not?"

"Because he's a Skywalker!" Kylo rasps impatiently. "He's a Chosen One. You know how much Force that kid has! That cannot be ignored. I will not have another generation of this family torn apart. Do I need to remind you of the history, Rey? When the Skywalkers are in opposition, it means civil war."

"Civil war?" Rey parrots his words as full understanding now dawns on her face. "You don't want a son—you want an Apprentice!" she accuses.

"Of course." Was there ever any doubt about this? This is how Snoke had always intended it: A Skywalker Sith Master grooming his son the Apprentice. Two men whose futures and goals were aligned, unlike the Sith of old. "Titus is my son. He needs my guidance."

Rey's eyes are huge with fright. "Oh, Kylo, no! Please don't make him into you." She says this as if it's a bad thing. And as far as he's concerned, it's yet another rejection from Rey.

Kylo is indignant now. "Why not? What's so bad about being the heir to the Empire?"

"You forget that I was there on the ride up, Kylo. I know what you did to get here. You killed your family as well as your foes. And look at you!" Rey gestures derisively to him now. "You don't seem very happy ruling your Empire." Her face looks troubled. Sad, really. "You're so different now," she whispers.

Yes, he is. "We're not kids anymore. You're different now too, Rey."

"I'm not talking about what we look like," she complains. "I'm talking about who you are, Kylo. I barely recognize you. You're so cold. All the best parts of you are gone now, aren't they? That isn't because of the war." She searches his eyes for a moment. "What happened to you?"

"You did."

The words come out as harsh as he means them. Rey takes a physical step back. But then she rallies. Rey always rallies, he remembers. And when she does, she attacks. "Don't blame me for your problems! And don't consign our son to the same unhappiness as you and the rest of the Skywalkers!" She shakes her head at him in nagging contempt. "You and your clan are the most fucked up people in all the galaxy."

Kylo just smirks at her profane outburst. "Do you really think Titus can go back to his old life now? Now that it's all been exposed as a lie?"

Again, he scores a hit. Rey loses her vehemence. "Just give him the choice," she proposes. "Let him try. You yourself had a choice, Kylo. Never forget that."

"No."

"Kylo, please. Let him go home and I'll . . . I'll-"

"You'll what?" he drawls, curious to hear what's coming next. Because Rey has no leverage in this situation.

Rey takes a deep breath. "I'll be your Light."

What? Has he heard right? Because fuck . . . if he heard right . . .

"I'll be your Light again," she repeats softly. She's looking up at him fearfully. Is she afraid to make the offer? Afraid he'll say yes? Or is it afraid he'll say no?

Kylo is caught off guard and that's a rare thing. He stands there, staring. Considering.

She's bargaining, he knows. That's what his scavenger girl does when she has the opportunity. Rey had starved thirsty in the desert rather than sell her body to the smugglers and spacers who wandered through Jakku. But now, she's ready to strike a deal for sex in a misguided attempt to help their son. Kylo is taken aback.

He's also impressed. For though she looks a desperate mess in the aftermath of last night's mental assault, Rey is still so beautiful to his eyes. Maybe never more beautiful than now as she offers up her sacrifice for their son. In a weird way, it's very Skywalker of her, he thinks. For the women in his clan have always been prone to these noble gestures. This is something Shmi Skywalker might have done for her boy. Or something Padme Skywalker might have done had she lived to have the chance. How Kylo wishes things would have gone differently and his fierce mama bear scavenger might be his wife and ally, and not his prisoner. But it's far too late for that now. And he's really not too keen on being in bed with a martyr.

"No," Kylo shakes his head with determination. "I'm not making that mistake again. I was a weak fool for you once, but never again, Rey." Kylo takes a deep breath to fortify himself. To bolster his resolve. "Never again," he vows. "You don't get to steal our son and live a lie with another man for years and then pick up where we left off! You don't get to ruin our family and destroy Biggs' life and then pretend like it never happened!" His tone is heated but now turns cold. "Rey, you were dead to me years ago. You will always be dead to me." And damn, it feels good to finally get the chance to reject her for a change. Usually, it's the other way around.

Belatedly Kylo realizes that Biggs, Vanee, and a squad of stormtroopers have witnessed this uncomfortably personal exchange. But somehow, once he and Rey had started bickering, all he could see was her. It's been like this since he first caught sight of her yesterday evening at the party, the lone woman in white standing while others knelt. His princess had whirled at the sound of her name and for a moment it had felt like all the oxygen had gone out of the room. There were a hundred or more people at that party, but all he had seen was Rey.

Kylo regains his equilibrium now and defaults to his habitual mode of command. "Say goodbye to Biggs," he orders. "Afterwards, you're going back to your cell for good, Princess." Kylo steps quickly past her now. Anxious to be away.

Kylo stomps off and keeps stomping. His anger surging with each step. For how dare she disrespect the first family of the Force. Rey herself might shirk her duty as a Force user, but the Skywalkers do not. No son of his is going to grow up ignorant of his place in the universe and disdainful of their patriarch's wise teachings. There is far too much power at stake. For that boy has serious potential. There's no way that Kylo will send Titus back to a humdrum life with Cade Biggs when the boy can make history one day here with him.

And then . . . then Rey had dared to tempt him. Throwing his forever weakness in his face. That brief second of temptation Kylo had felt was humiliating. And, actually, her Light had not been the humiliating part. For there is no shame in the call to the Light. It is a testament to the magnitude of his Dark power that the Force beckons him back a little towards the center. No, the humiliating part had been Rey herself. The allure that she still poses. The power she still holds over him. He can deny it all he wants to her face but he cannot deny it to himself. For part of him wants nothing more than to love Rey again and this time for her to love him back. Even if it's the lukewarm passion with which she loves Cade Biggs. These days, Kylo Ren can have all the sex he wants with beautiful women. And over the years he has found sufficient crutches for when he needs the Light. But he has yet to find a replacement for her.

Fuck! He hates that he is in this position. How like the Force to fuck with him in this way. Kylo finds a surprise son for an Apprentice and with him the promise of a Dark dynasty. But the boy comes along with his mother cloaked in the Light. She's a woman who Kylo now dares not kill lest he tip the balance of the Force too far and sow the seeds of his and his son's ruin. And so, no matter where he stashes his princess prisoner, he will never be free of her. Once, he had thought Rey to be his destiny. And now, he sees that she is. And that's not a good thing.

Angry about the situation, disappointed by his kid's lack of enthusiasm for him, and humiliated by his temptation, Kylo lights his sword and vents his frustration on the nearest wall. He swings again and again, the plasma blade of his saber leaving deep gouges and slashes on the melting stone. Kylo keeps going and going until his anger is spent. During the war, he indulged in these outbursts on a regular basis. Nestor used to joke about it, calling it 'redecorating.' But Kylo hasn't done this in many long years. He hasn't needed to. But Rey . . . well, she gets under his skin. She hasn't even been here twenty-four hours and look at what he is reduced to.

Kylo is panting with effort and the wall is a molten slab when he's through. Satisfied, Kylo steps back and deactivates his sword. He is stashing it back at his waist when he looks up to see the boy. Titus is standing staring from the end of the hallway. Looking both impressed and afraid. Well, mostly afraid.

And that's okay with him. An Apprentice ought to fear and respect his Master. And besides, fear is the path to the Dark Side. Because fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering. And for a Sith, that which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

Kylo beckons the boy forward. He looks him up and down. Today, Titus wears one of slight old Milo's uniforms and even that is roomy on the skinny kid. But at least it's black and suitably Sith looking. Well, sort of hand-me-down, low rent Sith looking. But whatever. It will do for now. Looking over the boy, the resemblance between father and son is very clear. And it goes beyond the features to betray itself in expressions and mannerisms too. Watching this surprise child speak with Biggs earlier, Kylo had looked and looked to no avail for evidence of Rey in the boy. But this whiney, needy kid is uncomfortably like his own former self, the enfant terrible of his uncle's Jedi academy.

"You're angry." Titus states the obvious as his eyes wander towards the destroyed wall.

"Yes. For Force-users, it is best to release your anger. To give in to hatred now and then. Suppressing intense emotions only leads to unhappiness. Titus, life is meant to be experienced and lived."

The boy nods as if he understands but Kylo knows he doesn't. Probably because he's had years of teachers nagging him about self-control. "Who are you so angry at?" Titus asks with a worried look.

"Your mother," Kylo answers truthfully, looking away. "Everything in your life up until now has been a lie. I blame her. She has done us both a great wrong."

"So you really are my father?" Titus now asks, peering up at him. Kylo can't tell if he sees skepticism, hope, or fear in the kid's face.

"Yes. I am your father."

"Yeah, I thought so. It felt true when Mom said it yesterday. And it feels true now. We even sort of look alike. I guess I never knew that because of the mask."

"She knew." His words are bitter.

"Where is my mother?"

"In a cell where she belongs." Kylo omits mention that Rey is actually down the hall. He doesn't need a scene just now to detract from Biggs berating Rey. Biggs is the type who will be moved to moderation if the kid intervenes, Kylo suspects. And he needs the mild-mannered business executive to grow a pair and stand up to his lying wife.

"Can I see her?"

"No." Kylo turns the boy down flat. He sees it's the answer his son expects. But still, Kylo feels compelled to explain. "It's better this way for you. And . . . for me."

"Why?"

"Because she's gone from your life. She was gone from my life before you were born."

"Oh." Then, the kid repeats himself now in an even smaller die-away voice. "Oh." After a long, tense moment, the teary-eyed boy demands, "Are you going to kill her? Because I demand to see her before you kill her!" Titus has a hard, stern look about him way beyond his years as he plants his feet and stands his ground. Kylo can't help but approve of this budding little Sith who looks him in the eye and dares to escalate things further. Because before Kylo can even answer, the boy takes it one step further. "I don't care if you are the Emperor. If you kill my mother, one day I will kill you! Years from now when you are old and weak and I am grown and strong, I will kill you! Slowly, you fucking asshole. So watch out!"

Kylo blinks at this speech. And then he suppresses the urge to laugh out loud at the hundred pound kid who is threatening him. Because this is good. This is very good. This natural aggression and confidence in the face of danger is what gets his kid into fights. And this is what will make him a Sith. Plus, his boy's reflexive urge to patricide makes him a Skywalker to the core. Well, that and the Force. Because his kid has plenty of Force. Yes, this is very, very good. So the Sith plays along.

Kylo nods gravely as if the kid poses a sincere threat. "Your mother is safe in her cell unless she tries to escape or she tries to kill me."

And now his kid doubles down. "I don't care what Mom does, if you kill her, then I will come for you."

Kylo has to strive his very hardest to keep a straight face. If the kid is this aggressive at twelve, what will he be like when puberty fully kicks in? Kylo is probably going to have to warn all of Coruscant to lock up their daughters. "Very well, then," Kylo allows. "We understand each other."

His kid nods solemnly in response, despite his trembling lower lip. "Very well."

Time for a new topic, Kylo decides, before he bursts into laughter and ruins everything. "Milo is supposed to register you in school today. When the summer break is over, you're going to school."

"Yeah? It's gonna cost you," the boy brags. "My dad paid plenty to get me into the last school. He's rich, you know."

Again, Kylo suppresses a smile. "I can stand the credits. But let's put off school registration for a few days."

"Yeah?" the kid brightens at this prospect.

"Yeah," Kylo decides on a whim. "There's someplace I want you to see."

"Where?"

"Jakku."

"Jakku as in the Battle of Jakku?"

"Yes."

"That's in the Rim, right?"

"Yes, the far Western Reaches."

"Why would I want to go there?"

"No one wants to go there. It's not a fun place to go. It's hot and there's lots of sand."

"Then why go?"

"To find the truth."

"Why should I care about truth?"

"Because your whole life is a lie. You deserve the truth."


	9. Chapter 9

"What a piece of junk."

His surly kid shoots him a look that says 'what is the Emperor of the galaxy doing flying this piece of shit?' And it's a fair point, since his old scratch-and-dent command shuttle looks a little worse for wear after all these years. The black paint is completely worn off on the underside of the hull where the shields took the most beating during the war. The left wing is also more silver than black in some places. Repainting was never a priority once the war heated up. Kylo hadn't wanted to be grounded for anything but mechanical maintenance. And then afterwards, he had kept the ship around for incognito trips like today. Because no one expects Emperor Ren to be flying around his galaxy in something that looks like it's from a half-price sale at a Mid Rim military salvage lot.

"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid," Kylo informs his son. He's amused by his little prince's reaction. It reminds him of elitist old Snoke. But Kylo is Han Solo's son, so he values what a ship can do far more than how sweet it looks. "The wear and tear is only superficial. This ship got me through a war and she'll hold together. And besides, we can't show up in my regular ship where we're going." His glitzy black on red Imperial shuttle is far too recognizable. "This bucket of bolts is perfect for Jakku. Trust me, she'll blend right in with the rest of the garbage."

"This isn't Kuat," Titus surmises as he starts pacing the perimeter of the ship. They're waiting for the shuttle to be fueled up and provisions loaded.

"Nah, she's Seinar-Jaemus. This ship was illegal when she was built and Kuat didn't sell to the First Order back in the New Republic days," Kylo explains. "Back in the day, my Master and I had matching shuttles." He waits for the kid to ask who his Master was, but the boy doesn't. So Kylo continues, "Darth Plagueis gave me this ship when he sent me off to war. I was eighteen when I got my own shuttle and a star destroyer to command."

"Cool."

"Well, he made me share the star destroyer," Kylo admits. And did that sound sheepish? He hopes it didn't sound sheepish.

"Who'd you share it with?"

"An old general. He was supposed to be my babysitter. But when the old guy died in battle, I shared the _Finalizer_ with his replacement General Hux." Kylo grins over at his son. "Then it was two kids in their twenties rampaging the galaxy on behalf of the First Order. We were maybe a little young for it all," he thinks in retrospect. And that's the understatement of the year. Because that was back when some of his knights organized weekly bikini contests at the ship's onboard swimming pool and first prize was a date with the then ladies man Nestor Ren. And who was that Fourth Knight who had devised all those ridiculous ways to prank Hux? That guy was hilarious. Kylo forgets his name now, remembering only that he had died horribly in a raid in the Rim. It was all so long ago. Kylo had been closer to his kid's age then than his own age now.

Titus gives the shuttle another appraising look. "Mom would love this old clunker," he decides sadly. "She loves war craft."

"That's true," Kylo agrees. "But she hated war. On Jakku, you will see why."

His boy falls silent now until they board the shuttle. As they march up the ramp together, Titus asks, "Why did she lie to me? And to Dad too?"

"Come on," Kylo pretends like he doesn't hear. He waves Titus up towards the cockpit. "You know how to fly?"

"Yeah, a little." Actually, it's a lot, Kylo knows. He had seen in Rey's memories the virtual dogfights Rey and Titus played around with on the flight simulator she had given him for his eleventh birthday. Rey had worried that her son had no friends and spent too much time alone in his room. So she had beguiled Cade Biggs out of a military grade simulator she had seen laying around the shipyards. A few times a week after dinner, Rey would wander in to check on his homework progress. If he was done, they would both play the simulator. In a rather ironic turn of events, the secret Skywalker Titus Biggs had regularly reenacted Death Star trench runs with his mother, with each alternating between flying a TIE and an X-wing.

"Good, you can pilot then." Kylo slides into the co-pilot seat and grabs a headset. "You've got clearance and maximum priority coming from the palace. Take us into orbit while I program the jump." Kylo turns to start poking at the navicomputer. Yes, it's just as he thought. Jakku is still in the preset hyperspace coordinates.

The kid does as he is told. He rather expertly navigates the crowded Coruscant atmosphere. Then, they make the jump and are away. Their tasks complete, Titus turns back to him now. "Why did she lie to me? Why didn't Mom want me to know I was your kid?"

Kylo frowns at his earnest, goofy looking son, remembering now a boy years older who had also one day learned the secret of his true heritage. He sighs. "Kid, history has a way of repeating itself in our family. Growing up my parents lied to me about our family too. I hated them for that. Well, for that and so much more. But then, my mother was never around much. My mother wasn't anything like your mother." Kylo thinks a moment and then adds, "My father wasn't anything like Cade Biggs either." Kylo remembers parents who mostly ignored him or treated him as a problem to be managed. Too busy with their own squabbles and personal pursuits to carve out time for him. And that is very different from all the smothering attention that Rey and, on occasion Biggs, had focused on Titus. Trying again and again to reach him and to help him.

"But why did she lie?" The kid whines and Kylo is reminded of just how young he is. Plus, his lifechanging news isn't even a full twenty-four hours old yet. "She's my mother," the boy says softly. "She's not supposed to lie. Dad never explained why she lied."

"Does it matter?" Kylo asks bluntly. "Even if she had a good reason, would it matter?"

"Did she have a good reason?"

"Yes, she did," Kylo answers vaguely. "Or, at least, she thought she did. She wanted to keep you from me, Titus." He turns away from his kid's questioning look. "You mother and I ended on bad terms. You saw that last night."

"Yeah . . . " And now it's the boy's turn to flush and turn away. "I guess I'm sort of a disappointment as a long-lost son."

"Not at all." This kid needs some encouragement and less correction, Kylo intuits. Because he himself can remember what it was like to be the problem child and family screw-up. Kylo smiles approvingly now over at the son who is a stranger to him. "The two things I worried about you are fine."

"Yeah? What were those?"

"I worried that your mother had taught you to hate me."

The boys shakes his head. "Mom never talked about you. Not as the Emperor or as my real father. And . . . I guess I never asked. She's not really into politics. And Mom never talked about the past. I figured it was because she was sad about it. You know-because you're supposed to be dead." The boy looks troubled now. "Did Mom really try to kill you?"

Kylo shrugs. "Killing might be a strong word for it. But she did pull a sword on me."

That revelation instantly animates his kid. "Mom can use a sword? A sword like yours? Wow. Who knew?"

Kylo smiles at this reaction. "I taught her. I will teach you as well."

"Cool." And now, finally, the boy looks vaguely happy about something. "What was the other thing you worried about me?"

"I hoped that you had the Force. And you do."

"I do?" Titus' eyes narrow. "How can you tell? Does it show?"

It's such an ignorant remark that Kylo chuckles. "The Force is strong in my family. In your mother's family, too. I have it, my mother and her brother had it, my grandfather and my great-grandfather had it. You have that power too. In time, you will learn to use it as I have."

"So it's true that you are a magic Sith lord like in the fairytale stories?"

Again, Kylo smiles at this misconception. "Yes," he confirms. "I am Sith. Like my grandfather and his father before him."

"But not your uncle?" The boy picks up on the omission.

"My uncle was offered the opportunity several times, but he declined." Looking his boy squarely in the eyes, Kylo reveals the first of many truths. "My uncle was the Jedi Luke Skywalker."

"Oh." The boy blinks at this news. "But I thought you killed-"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Wasn't the Jedi's sister a Resistance general?"

"Yes. General Leia Organa. She was a Senator of the New Republic, the Princess of Alderaan, and a Rebellion hero."

"So this Organa lady was your aunt?"

"She was my mother."

"Oh. Oooooh."

"We Skywalkers are a complicated lot," Kylo summarizes. And then he launches into the story of the clan conceived to save the galaxy and to bring balance to the Force. Walking the boy through the bitter tale generation by generation. He omits none of the violence or the betrayals, for they are as much a part of the saga as the noble sacrifices and the ideals. Altogether, that burden, that struggle, is what it means to be a Skywalker. That, and the Force.

His boy listens with rapt attention. He's a sharp kid and his intuition is strong. "This is why Mom lied to me."

Kylo thinks back to the woman who earlier today had propositioned him in exchange for letting her son go free. "Yes. In part."

"I thought the Force was a hokey religion that died out with the Jedi cult. That's what they taught us at school."

"The Force is real and it is everywhere, Titus. But knowledge of the Force can be dangerous. That is why we Sith safeguard our secrets to protect our power."

"It's everywhere?"

"Yes. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. Do not underestimate the power of the Force, Titus. For through the Force, all things are possible. You will learn that in time."

The kid looks bewildered by all of this. And, truthfully, it's been a bewildering two days for this boy. So Kylo decides to tread lightly on the Force talk. He switches gears. "Are you hungry?" He's a growing boy, he must be hungry. Titus looks so darn scrawny right now. He's all nose, hair and shoulders and the rest of him is a near skeleton. "Let's go see what's in the back."

They wander out from the cockpit together. Kylo rummages around in the galley and it's fully stocked as usual with all his favorite munchies. He might eat nice dinners in his palace, but road trips in his shuttle require junk food and lots of it. It's tradition, he thinks, going back to the days when his shuttle had five or six other knights and they would pound beers and watch pod racing during long flights. Yes, Kylo thinks as he selects a few snacks, this will be excellent father-son bonding. He throws the kid a soda and some chips, opens himself a beer, and starts dipping into his marshmallow cereal box for handfuls.

His kid looks at the soda tentatively and then pops it open. Seriously, the kid looks like he just handed him poison. Kylo notices he doesn't drink.

Kylo sprawls out on one of the couches in the lounge and flips on pod racing. It's highlights from last year's season. "Your great-grandfather was a pod racer," he remarks offhand. "He won the Boonta Eve Classic on Tatooine."

"I thought you said he was Darth Vader."

"He was. But before he ruled the Empire, he was a pod racer. And a Jedi. He was a war hero of the Clone Wars."

He watches as the boy takes a tentative sip of soda. "So what were you before you were Kylo Ren?"

Kylo smirks. "I was a loner kid who hated my parents and kept getting kicked out of school."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I hated school."

"Me too."

Kylo grunts and smiles at this. He slants the kid a sideways glance. "You still have to go to school, you know. Education matters."

"You sound like Mom," the boy grumbles and it makes Kylo smile.

"Want some?" Kylo offers over the box of cereal. The kid looks hungry. Aren't all kids supposed to be hungry? He knows nothing about this whole parenting thing.

The boy declines. "Mom doesn't like me to eat sugar. She's says it's poor nutrition."

"She's right," Kylo agrees easily. "But is your Mom here?"

"No," comes the sullen, resentful reply.

"Then now's your chance," Kylo observes, handing over the box. "We Sith don't play by the rules, kid. Remember that." Plus, sugar is just the beginning of their vices.

Kylo digs out his datapad to peruse his messages. When he's finished, he hands it off to Titus. The datapad is open to the files Kylo had shown late last night to Cade Biggs. "This is your mother when we were together."

He watches as his son spends almost half an hour flipping through the pictures and watching the old newsfeed segments broadcast to Occupied Coruscant about Princess Renata Palpatine's mercy missions. The boy is silent the whole time until he hands back the datapad. "She's not a real blonde," Titus says dejectedly. "That's a lie too."

Twenty hours of stilted conversation later, they arrive at their destination. Kylo sets the shuttle down and they disembark into the midday desert sun. Kylo begins to narrate as they wander around. He was raised on Rebellion war stories and he knows the Empire's side of the story as well, so he talks his silent kid through the battle. Once the military history lesson is complete, Kylo launches into his personal history with Jakku.

Kylo tells his son how he had come here as a tourist to see the ships graveyard they stand in now. This was my parents' war against my grandfather, he explains. Look around you, he gestures expansively, for this is the consequence of separating the Skywalkers. This war and the thirty-year failed experiment of the New Republic that followed. I came here on a whim wanting to understand the past, so I could avoid repeating it, he tells his son. And that's when I met your mother. Kylo sighs. He can't help but feel glum. I thought that your mother was the key to the future. That we would do things differently. We were going to be the generation that got it right. We would stay together and raise a family and balance the Force. But it didn't work out.

"What happened?" Titus asks and it's a fair question.

But Kylo doesn't want to get into the details. "Your mother and I were complicated from the beginning." Kylo points out the _Inflictor_ wreck. It hasn't changed much in the years since he was last here. "I met her in that star destroyer over there. She slid down a rope to the ground where I stood. I didn't know what to make of her. I had never met anyone like her."

He tells his son about the vagabond waif he had met. So skinny and tan in her desert rags. But remarkably self-possessed and always ready to fight. Your mother was a beacon of Light and hope in this landscape of death, he tells Titus. I knew she was special from the beginning. Since arriving on Jakku, a lot of the heat has gone out of Kylo's anger now. He mostly feels a sense of nostalgia and loss.

He tells Titus how he would steal away from his duties to visit Rey. Sometimes for just an hour, sometimes for a day. He would tag along as she scavenged or they would hang out or fly his shuttle. It was all very low key. Your mother was a cheap date, he grins over at his son. Most of the time, she cost me only some snacks and a couple power converters. But it was fun. Lots of fun.

"So she was your secret girlfriend?" Titus asks. He has remained very silent since they landed.

"Yeah, pretty much," Kylo answers as he remembers the good times. "I was crazy about her. She didn't know who I was at first. Like today, back then when I came here, I didn't wear the uniform and mask. That's part of what I valued about your mother. I could be myself around her." Kylo thinks a moment before adding, "Plus, she was never afraid of me. I liked that too. Nothing intimidates your mother." Well, except being an Empress, he thinks.

"If you cared, then why did you leave her here?"

Kylo shrugs. "She didn't want to leave."

"Why not? This place is awful," his kid points out. "And it's hot."

"It was her home and it was all she had ever known. People cling to the familiar," he instructs his son. "That's why change is so hard. Plus, Rey was safely tucked away here. Hidden from the war, from my enemies, and from my Master. I worried that my Master would not approve of her. But Darth Plagueis adored your mother and he gave his blessing to us."

"There's bodies all throughout these ships," he calls to his son who has wandered to peer at mummified remains in a downed TIE. "Your mother lived among all this death for years. It taught her to hate war. Rey never fully embraced the First Order or the Resistance. She existed someplace in between." Titus looks sort of surprised at this news, but Kylo shrugs. "I was fine with that. My Master was fine with that. In the end, Rey was the one who had issues with it. Plus, she didn't want to be my Empress. She was afraid to be my Empress."

"I can see now why Mom loves her replica ships," his boy remarks. He's looking at the smashed remnants of a T-65 X-wing. "She lived around them."

Kylo nods. "She fixed them too. Rey did hourly mechanical work at the outpost when she could. Doing repairs for smugglers, reconditioning old junkers, and disguising stolen ships. But when there wasn't work, she scavenged here in the wreckage. For years, this place was a glorified junkyard for spare parts."

"That's so shady," the boy says under his breath and it annoys Kylo.

His tone is a sharp rebuke now. "Your mother did what she needed to survive. I admired that about her. She grew up hard, fast, and alone here. Kid, it was a miracle that she survived. All those years, the Force was with her."

"I never knew any of this about her." Titus scans the desolate landscape, shading his eyes as he squints in the sun. "I guess this is why Mom can't swim."

"Jakku explains a lot of things about your mother," Kylo says after a long moment. "It was a miracle that she survived. She was a remarkable woman."

"Stop talking about her like she's dead!" Titus suddenly interrupts. "You keep talking about her in the past tense. Stop it! She's alive."

Kylo responds as gently as he can. "She is the past now. It's best not to dwell too much on the past." He knows this lesson better than anyone. For years, Kylo had obsessed over learning the truth of the past, determined to surpass it. And in many ways, he has. Just not in the important ways.

Next, they take the shuttle to Rey's old AT-AT. No one appears to be living there now, and inside the contents have long since been picked clean of anything useful. They wander through what remains and Kylo tells the boy the details of how Rey had lived. Pointing out where Rey had hung her makeshift hammock inside and where she had fashioned a rudimentary moisture vaporator outside. Seeing all of this has Kylo melancholy. It makes him feel old. Like all his dreams and goals are over. Like he is reduced to being a glorified administrator now. Would the young man who sat in the sand with Rey have done things differently if he knew how they would turn out? Kylo isn't certain.

He wanders over to one wall now and starts wiping at it with his glove, brushing away years of sand that has blown in from storms. Titus stands back watching as Kylo applies himself to the task. When he has a two-meter square section uncovered, the Sith steps back.

"What are those?" the boy asks, pointing at the neat rows of tally marks on the wall.

"This is just the part you can see. They cover this entire wall and part of that one too."

"What are they?"

Kylo turns to regard his son steadily. "Those marks represent the days that your mother was here. The days that she survived."

He watches as Titus frowns and visibly swallows. "I can't believe she lived like this," he mutters, looking dismayed at the marks.

Kylo nods his agreement. "It's hard to fathom just how bleak your mother's childhood was. I'm sure she didn't want you to know the truth of Jakku. She was ashamed of it even with me. She shouldn't have been, but she was. In the end, Jakku was a large part of why she refused to be my Empress." Kylo looks again at those pitiful marks on the wall. "Suffering makes you stronger, Titus. Remember that. But it changes you, too. Your mother was tough and brave because she had to be. She was also incredibly resourceful and independent." And very damaged, he adds to himself. Kylo shakes his head ruefully now as the thought occurs to him. "I shouldn't be surprised that your mother lived all these years. And lived well. Survival is what your mother does best."

He turns to his kid now and comes clean. "Titus, your mother hid the truth from you because when we broke up, I tried to kill her. She started it, but we fought. And after she escaped, I had her killed. Or so, I thought." His confession is an impulse in the moment. But Kylo reasons that it will remove the power of Rey revealing the truth one day. More than anything, Kylo needs this boy to trust him. And there is no trust where there are secrets. And if there is no trust, then there can be no love. And Kylo Ren really wants his son to love him.

"She lied to protect me." His horrified looking boy understands immediately. "She was in hiding from you."

"Yes." Kylo sighs. "I thought I did kill her. But I regretted it. Your mother is the only person I ever regretted killing."

"Stop talking about her like she is dead!" the boy hisses. His eyes flash as he glares up at his father.

Kylo just nods. "She's been dead to me for thirteen years, Titus. That woman in a cell is a stranger."

"I think I fucking hate you," the kid mutters. And Kylo lets the comment slide.

"Come." They return to the ship and Kylo pulls two speeder bikes out of the small cargo hold. They ride them to the Niima Outpost where Rey had traded and worked. Not much has changed through the years. Jakku is off the main hyperspace lanes and it's a sparsely inhabited world known mostly for smuggling. The First Order hasn't bothered to spend the resources necessary to clean up and develop this world. Kylo explains why to his son. How his Empire sets priorities to maximize return on investment. How they focus their efforts where they can do the most good for the most people.

Together, they watch from afar as business is conducted, for Jakku remains a barter economy where credits have no meaning. The proxy currency around here is food, Kylo tells Titus. Portions. His boy has been raised the privileged son of a corporate bigwig and he has never witnessed poverty like on Jakku. Maybe in newsfeeds or in textbooks, but never in person. It makes an impression, Kylo sees. And he's glad.

This is the reality of the Rim, he explains, this is where the First Order found its initial foothold. Where the empty promises of the New Republic cut deep. Where general lawlessness had citizens poised to welcome our message of law and order. These impoverished forgotten worlds joined with the outlying industrial systems and the many marginalized non-human worlds to form a coalition. We were a populist reform movement, Kylo teaches, with an anti-Establishment, anti-Core message. Your mother and those like her were the reason for our cause.

Resistance propaganda used to charge that we kidnapped children to make them stormtroopers, Kylo complains. But we didn't need to kidnap them. Parents approached begging us to accept their children. Because stormtroopers were given food to eat, a place to sleep, and clothes to wear. And they went to school. That was far more than their children had at home. We had no shortage of men and women signing up to fight and die for our cause, Kylo recalls vividly. Our people had nothing to lose and everything to gain. And the cushy, complacent Core worlds never saw it coming.

"I can see why people were angry," the youth at his side allows. "I can see why they wanted change."

"Yes," Kylo agrees. He is in a reflective mood himself today. "The people had been promised change for years. Then one day, they grew tired of waiting and asking for change. They decided to be the change. And that, is how we went to war." Kylo looks over at his young son, the boy who is half Rey and half him. He feels the need to explain himself. So that this boy will understand what Rey could not. "Titus, when you read about the war, about the destruction and the death, remember what you see here today. My violence always has a purpose. And that purpose is the greater good. Because justice for the many outweighs justice for the few."

He sees that his words are sinking in, so Kylo continues. "Power is what matters most in the universe. Power can keep you and those you love safe and comfortable. Power can create the change you want to fulfill the future you envision. You can have worthy ideas and good intentions but be a failure all the same. For if you lack the power to implement your goals, none of it matters. Then, it's all talk. That was the fallacy of the New Republic. My mother and her Senate could not deliver. In the end, their failure was complete."

He turns now to regard his adolescent son full of the Force. "You are not like other children and you will be no ordinary man. Accept that now. Titus, you are a Skywalker and that means you are gifted with the Force and born to lead. We are men and women of action. We are agents of change above and beyond all others. This is your birthright and it is an enormous responsibility. Do you understand?"

His son nods warily.

"Good." Kylo pauses to glance over at the large kiosk that is one of very few permanent buildings at the outpost. It's the headquarters of Unkar Plutt. He turns back to his son. "That responsibility begins today. Let us go avenge your mother and help this world."

"What?"

"There is a man standing there in that kiosk who kept your mother in servitude for years. He cheated and starved her. He's still doing it here today to others. He and his kind are the scourge of the Rim."

"Who are you talking about?"

"There—that big Crolute behind the window with the line of people before him. He is the two-bit crime boss of the Niima Outpost named Unkar Plutt. Shall we pay him a visit?"

"Uh . . . To do what?"

"To kill him."

"K-Kill him?" the boy says a little too loudly.

"Yes. Things might have been different for your mother and I if Jakku had been less harsh. And then we might have been a happy family together all these years." Kylo tries to say these words matter of fact, but they come out with a wistful bent.

"And you blame this Unkar Plutt?" Titus sounds skeptical.

"Among others, yes. Let's go kill him."

"Can we do that?"

"Of course, we can. As Emperor, I have the power and the duty to bring justice to this world. Plutt deserves to die for your mother and for your sister."

"I have a sister?" the boy blinks.

"She's dead. She died on Jakku before she was born." Kylo turns now to Titus. "Do not bring it up to your mother. It was a long time ago, but it would only upset her."

"Does this mean I get to see my mother?" The kid doesn't miss a beat.

"No."

Titus hazards a glance over at the Crolute and balks. "You know the person I'm most angry with right now is you." Titus doesn't mince words.

And Kylo appreciates that. He just shrugs. "That's fair."

"You steal me from my home—"

"Your rightful home is with me."

"You imprison my mother—"

"She had it coming."

"I'm really angry at you," the kid says pointedly.

"Good," Kylo approves. "Emotions are a source of strength. Now is your chance to release that anger and let the hate flow through you. Summon your rage, son. It will make it easy."

"W-What?"

"Come. Let's watch him a moment. I want you to see how he operates." And the setup is perfect, Kylo thinks. Together, he and Titus watch as first some stooped and wizened old woman offers up scrap for sale. Plutt turns her down flat. But I haven't eaten in two days, the woman pleads. But the Crolute is unmoved. Next up steps a mother with a baby strapped to her chest and an older kid at her side. Again, the Crolute refuses sale. The woman argues back that the scrap she pulled was worth three portions just last week. But she'll settle for a single portion today. At her side, the older kid pulls at his mother's cloak to complain 'I'm hungry.' And now the woman looks close to tears from her desperation. But she too is turned away empty-handed.

"I don't like that guy," Titus observes at his side.

"That guy is why your mother ate sand as a child just to feel full." And now Kylo has seen enough. He steps forward. "You there, come out. Now," Kylo orders to Plutt.

The Crolute ignores him. He gestures to a pair of thugs by his side. They raise blasters and take aim as Kylo calmly stands his ground. "You're not from around here, so perhaps you don't know who you're dealing with," the junk boss croaks out in his deep voice. "Now leave before we shoot you."

"Go ahead. Shoot," Kylo offers easily. He's unconcerned. Well, really, he's sort of excited. It has been far too long since someone took a shot at him. "Go ahead," he goads again. "Take your best shot."

"But—" It's Titus standing off to the side. "Wait!" the boy cries as the thugs open fire.

The kid's alarm is unwarranted. The two plasma shots now hang harmless and buzzing in the air. Freezing blaster bolts is second nature to Kylo Ren. This was his signature move in the war and it's a telltale reveal for Emperor Ren. But just to be certain there is no ambiguity, Kylo lights his iconic crossguard sword and twirls it for all to see.

"I'll ask you again, Plutt," he calls to the now petrified Crolute. "Come out."

"Uuuuuh . . . okay . . . " the junk boss agrees warily as he steps around from behind the kiosk. His thugs both drop their weapons and start to run but Kylo freezes them in the Force. He calls one of their fallen blasters into his left hand. Then, with the expert aim that was the only thing he learned from Han Solo, Kylo drills each thug with a shot to the head. They drop in a heap to the sand.

"When you kill," Kylo instructs his boy, "kill quick and clean. The Sith are not sadists. We are architects of the future. We give justice swift and sure." Kylo clicks on the safety before tossing the blaster back to Titus. "Those guys won't menace good people any longer."

The boy just gapes. First at the dying men, then at Kylo, and finally at the hot blaster in his hands.

Kylo continues his patient tutelage. "Stretch out your feelings and experience their death in the Force. Feel their energy rush back into the universe. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, Force to Force. That is the way of things for all but the strongest Sith." Kylo himself breathes in the Force. "There goes the first. And . . . now the second. They are one with the Force."

By now, Unkar Plutt has fallen to his knees in the sand. He starts to blubber and plead. "Mercy! Mercy, I beg you!"

Kylo is unmoved. "You seek the mercy you refuse to show others?" Kylo scoffs. "Plutt, you are not sorry for your crimes, you are sorry you got caught. You and your kind are the scourge of the Rim," he announces coldly. "The crime bosses, the swindlers, the smugglers, the slumlords, the petty criminals who prey on honest people and hinder opportunity. Who line their pockets with stolen funds meant for development, who skim protection money off hardworking citizens, who impede progress and legitimate business activity with their entrenched graft."

Raising his sword to the prisoner's throat, the Emperor pronounces his sentence. "I am Darth Ren the Just and I do not give mercy to the guilty. By rights, you should die slowly. You should suffer for the years of pain you have caused. But today I will give you a quick, clean death. Now get up," Kylo orders. "Take this like a man."

The trembling Crolute collects himself and does as he is told.

Kylo turns to his son. "Now, kill him."

The boy blinks. "Me?"

"Yes. Kill him. Kill him now. It is a just punishment that will spare others the deprivation your mother suffered."

"Uh . . . Shouldn't he have a trial?" the kid wonders aloud.

"There are no courts on Jakku. I am the judge and jury. I take full responsibility for the decision. You will merely carry it out."

"Oh." The boy swallows hard and licks his lips nervously. "But I'm twelve," he whispers.

"That's old enough." Kylo now starts talking Titus through it in a patient voice, ignoring the small crowd of onlookers who have gathered. "Take the safety off. It's the button by your right thumb just beneath the trigger. Aim for the center of the chest." This big guy standing three meters away should be an easy target.

"O-Okay . . ." the boy whispers. "I c-can d-do t-this . . . " But still he hesitates.

Kylo silently counts to ten and then prods him, "Well?"

Titus looks very troubled. But he closes his eyes and pulls the trigger. Down goes the junk boss in a smoking heap. The kid seems surprised by the recoil on the weapon. He yelps and drops the blaster in the sand.

Kylo walks over to inspect the victim. Plutt looks pretty well fried, he decides. There will be no need to finish him with the sword. Satisfied, Kylo looks to his son. "Well done," he commends. For Kylo is determined not to be stingy with his praise like old Darth Plagueis had been. This boy is so young and unsure of himself. So beleaguered by the constant disappointment of others. And so lost in the revelation of his patrimony. He needs encouragement not criticism. "Well done."

Later on the flight home, the boy is subdued. Every time Kylo looks over at the scared looking kid, he is reminded yet again of his own younger self. Of a fifteen-year-old boy who had cried hot tears as he vomited after his first blooding. The slaughter at his uncle's academy had been far more than this single wretched criminal his son had put down today. But at twelve, Titus is young for this sort of thing.

"I'd never even held a blaster before today," the boy blurts out suddenly.

Kylo is surprised. "Then what do they teach at that military academy you went to?"

"It was mostly rules. Learning to respect authority and play by the rules."

"You can forget all that. None of that applies to you." Kylo looks over at the boy who keeps chugging his soda. Titus' prior inhibitions about sugar and junk food seem to have flown out the window in the wake of the visit to Jakku. "You did well. I'm proud of you." With all that Force combined with the right training, his son will be a powerful Sith one day.

"Does this make me a man now?" Titus asks hopefully.

Killing doesn't make you a man, Kylo thinks, but it makes you a Skywalker. For Dark or Light, his family has a high body count. But now is not the time to emphasize that. "You'll be a man soon enough," he grins, clapping the kid on the shoulder. Kylo sits back and remembers, "I was fifteen the first time I killed. I started big though. I killed a bunch of Jedi padawans."

"There were still Jedi then?"

"A few young ones. I killed them all."

"Why? What did they do?"

"There was a war going on at the time. They were the enemy. The Jedi are the ancient enemy of the Sith."

"Oh." Titus thinks a moment. "Is my mother the enemy? Is that why you tried to kill her?" Kylo sees that the boy is trying hard to understand.

"I feared she would become one. But she did not. I am very grateful that she did not." Kylo thinks a moment and then adds, "I am grateful for you too. And for all that she has done for you."

"Then you will let her go?" his boy asks hopefully.

"I can't do that."

"Why not? What did she do wrong other than live?" Titus whines.

Kylo shuts down the conversation. "That's between Rey and I. When you are older and have experience with women you will understand."

"It's just that you sound like you like Mom when you talk about her."

"I told you to forget it."

The kid backs down. But he pouts and gives him dirty looks for a good twenty minutes after that. When his son finally pipes up again, it's to observe, "You're not anything like Dad . . . uh . . . Cade Biggs."

Kylo just smirks in response.

"Is it alright if I don't call you Dad? It feels weird to call you Dad," the boy sputters out.

"What would you like to call me?" Kylo solicits, curious to hear the response.

"I d-don't know. Whatever."

"Why don't you call me what my family calls me? It's what Milo and Vanee call me. And what on occasion your mother used to call me."

"Sir?" the boy ventures a guess.

"Master," Kylo corrects.


	10. Chapter 10

_How could you do this to us?_

 _I'm sorry._

 _You used me!_ _For twelve years, you used me to hide!_

 _I'm so sorry._

 _I don't even know who you are!_

The confrontation with Cade is even worse than Rey fears. After initially looking her over and asking about her welfare, her mild mannered, cool headed husband proceeds to lose it in the stress of the moment. Rey sees that her dependable husband is utterly betrayed, feeling powerless, and despondent as he watches his family crumble. Cade Biggs is a patient man who solves problems for a living, who makes pragmatic business decisions all day long. But he knows that no amount of credits will make this problem go away and that he cannot think his way out of this situation. And he is fucking pissed about it. Like most big business CEOs, he's a man used to getting his way. But not this time.

 _You have ruined our family!_

 _I'm sorry._

 _I trusted you._ _Like a fool, I trusted you._

 _I'm sorry._

 _I will not let you take the rest of us down with you, Rey._

Her fight with Cade occurs only hours after Kylo has ransacked her mind and left her unconscious. Rey wakes in her cell disoriented from a stim shot. There is a brief tussle with some female guards before she is stripped of her garments and dressed in a prisoner's uniform. More guards appear and with them the old caretaker of Vader's castle, the longtime Sith servant Vanee. He, at least, is kind. Vanee quietly orders everyone from the room. Then, he hands her a damp cloth to wipe the blood from her face, neck and hands. Vanee tells her that she is going to see her husband now and he gives her a few minutes alone to collect herself.

Rey rallies as they march her through long corridors to a conference room. Cade stands out front waiting but Kylo does too. And now Rey has a bitter and humiliating confrontation with the Sith before she has to face Cade. By the time she sits down in a chair, her adrenaline is spent and her head pounding from the aftereffects of last night. Rey simply listens with tears flowing down her face. She has no defense and so she offers none. And truthfully, she feels a bit numb to it all. And maybe it's her quiet, guilty demeanor that frustrates her husband. Because when Rey doesn't much engage, Cade's stern demand for an explanation becomes a frustrated vent session and then devolves into an all-out tirade. It's very out of character and that is very telling for how hurt he is.

 _I would rather you cheated on me than you lied to me like this._

 _I know._ _But I would never do that to you._ _Oh, Cade, I'm sorry._

 _Did you ever love me?_ _Or did you just love what I could do for you and Titus?_

 _Of course, I love you._ _Cade, I'm so sorry._

 _Were you ever going to tell me the truth?_

This last question is the only question Rey truly debates. She looks Cade in the eye and tells him that if he knew the truth, he would be dead by Kylo's sword by now. Be grateful I did not tell you. Because knowing the truth wouldn't change anything except you would be dead and the girls would be losing a father too. That point gets through to Cade and now he too is subdued. Tell me everything, he says wearily. In your own words, tell me the story of how you came to be on my stolen prototype by the shipyards years ago. I want the whole, complete truth out of you, Rey.

Rey takes a deep breath and begins on Jakku. She speaks of meeting a stranger in a wreck who turned out to be Kylo Ren, of a Jedi Master come to collect her for his sister the enemy general, and of Supreme Leader Snoke with his blue lightning he used on Army Hux. She speaks of life with Milo and Snoke at the bunker, of life with the Flick family on a refugee compound, and of life with Kylo on a star destroyer amid a war. She talks of peace negotiations that failed, of executions she witnessed, and of mercy missions to hand out toys at detainment camps. Rey tells Cade that she sat on Snoke's throne and she lived at Darth Vader's castle but she also ran supplies for the Resistance. It comes out in a jumbled stream of consciousness babble, a sort of monologue of regrets.

Cade Biggs listens silently through it all. When her improbable tale trails off, he gives Rey a long and searching look. He asks a few questions.

 _Did you love him?_

 _I wasn't sure at the time._ _But looking back, yes, I did._ _A little._ _And it scared me._ _Like the war scared me._

 _Did you know you were pregnant when you left him?_

 _No._ _Truthfully, I probably wouldn't have left had I known._

 _What was all that talk between you and him in the hallway just now about being his Light?_

 _Nothing._ _I t was nothing._

 _Really?_ _I t didn't look like nothing._ _And he didn't react like it was nothing._

 _It was nothing._ _Just some Force stuff he used to like._

Cade is quiet a long time after that. Then, he tells Rey that he doesn't know whether to believe her story. But he believes that she believes her story. And that helps, he says. Cade doesn't agree with what she did, but he understands better what she believed happened. And Emperor Ren has assured him repeatedly that Rey will get the help she needs while she is in custody.

Rey's eyes widen at this last bit. She starts demanding to know what Cade has been told. But her husband brushes her off. Cade Biggs doesn't know the truth and he's not in a position to debate it. And, from his perspective, it doesn't matter. Whatever the truth may be, he is losing her and losing Titus and there is nothing he can do to change that. Cade doesn't know if he will get a chance to see her again, but he hopes so. And he hopes that he will be allowed to bring the girls by to visit her and Titus. What are you saying? Rey is confused. Cade looks away, weary as he rubs at his forehead. He's saying that this is goodbye. He gives Rey a light kiss on the cheek before she is marched back to her cell.

Her new home is a small, sterile room with four grey walls and bright lights that are kept on all the time. After some experimentation, Rey learns that if she scratches hard enough with the corner of her food tray, she can make a small hash mark on the wall. Each day, she adds another mark in a neat row just above the built-in bench that serves as her bed and her chair. It is at once comforting and upsetting. Because this is what has become of her . . . again. She's alone stuck in harsh circumstances she is powerless to change. At least on Jakku, Rey thinks sourly, she had been free.

No one lays a hand on her. But Kylo knows her well enough to make his punishment hurt in ways daily beatings never could. For Rey had left him for the freedom he now takes away. And all the years she has spent moving past the pain of Jakku are for nothing now that she is back to an isolated existence. Reduced to marking time with scratches on the wall. Twice a day, her jailers bring her water and a ration muffin. She hasn't eaten anything remotely like that in years. It's almost like he's mocking her.

The days go by slowly and the nights take forever. Rey worries and worries. It's mostly about Titus, but it's also about Cade and the girls. And about herself too.

A week later, Rey is marched from her cell and back to a conference room. Cade Biggs is waiting there looking miserable. Standing beside him is a hardnosed woman Rey recognizes as the Kuat general counsel and a nervous man who is introduced as Cade's personal attorney.

Cade looks her up and down. He wears an expression of concern. "Geez, Rey, are they feeding you?" And that comment before witnesses has Rey feeling suddenly self-conscious. In the week she's been in captivity, she hasn't felt much like eating. Does it show? There is no mirror in her cell for Rey to know. And unlike other women, she hates looking skinny.

Rey is about to answer when the door whooshes open and in marches Kylo Ren. Behind him follows a quartet of slick looking lawyers who could only be from some centuries-old white shoe Coruscant law firm that has multiple names in the title. Everyone scrambles to their feet to stand in respect for the Emperor except Rey whose wrists are handcuffed to her chair.

Kylo plunks his heavy helmet down and seats himself at the head of the table. He looks bored as he waves the group back into their chairs and nods to his lead lawyer to begin. But when the man launches into introductions of who's who and whose interest they represent, Kylo interrupts to complain, "You can dispense with the pleasantries. Get on with it."

And now, the youngest looking lawyer crosses to place a datapad on the table in front of Rey. "What is this?" Rey asks the woman blankly. Her question appears to catch everyone by surprise. The lawyers all turn to confer with one another.

Kylo just smirks.

While the attorneys all huddle and mumble, Cade Biggs speaks up. "Rey, I thought you knew. These are our divorce papers. Well, actually it's something like an annulment. That's how the lawyers think it should be written up. It will be like we were never legally married."

Oh. "You're divorcing me?" she whispers aloud. She hadn't seen this coming. She probably should have, but she didn't.

"The papers also rescind the adoption," the nervous man at Cade's side chimes in.

"An annulment?" Rey only has a vague idea of what that means. "But we were married for over a decade. Cade, your mother was at our wedding . . ." Rey thinks a moment. "And I signed that premarital agreement thing you wanted."

"The papers also rescind the pre-nup," Cade's personal lawyer speaks up again. "It is rendered moot by today's settlement."

"Oh." After a moment, Rey repeats herself. "Oh." She looks across the table at Cade. "We're doing this right now?" she asks in a small voice.

"Yes." This comes from one of the tribe of palace lawyers. "We have a judge waiting down the hall who will accept this settlement and enter it into the record. The documents will be sealed, of course. None of this will ever be public."

"Oh," Rey says a third time.

Cade Biggs looks like he has aged five years in the week since Rey last saw him. He speaks up to urge, "Rey, this is for the best. A man in my position can't have a wife who was the subject of a wartime bounty. The lawyers tell me that your Resistance activities are covered by the post-war amnesty. But it's completely inappropriate for a man in my position to be married to you. You knew that."

The Kuat general counsel woman nods along at this summation. Then Cade's lawyer speaks up again. "The larger issue is your current arrest. My client is a loyal servant of the Empire and a respected business leader. He cannot remain married to a woman in your predicament."

The lead palace lawyer now takes issue with his phrasing. "We've been over this before. There is no valid marriage to be dissolved. The princess was never legally free to marry. Today's settlement makes that clear."

"I am trying to put this in terms Mrs. Biggs will understand," Cade's lawyer protests and now the two sets of lawyers begin to bicker vociferously over semantics and about what to call her.

Rey interrupts. "I need a lawyer." She doesn't trust any of these men and women to have her best interests at heart. "Can I get my own lawyer?" she asks Cade.

"No," Kylo decrees from the head of the table.

"It wouldn't matter, Rey," Cade tells her softly.

"Well, do I at least get a chance to read this settlement myself?" Rey demands.

"This is your opportunity," the lead palace lawyer gestures to the datapad on the table before her.

"I can't pick it up," Rey informs him with resentment. Not with her wrists handcuffed to the arms of the chair she sits in.

Kylo smirks, "Oh, well." He's clearly enjoying himself.

And that gets under her skin. "Fine," Rey tells him. Then she concentrates a moment. A long moment since she's very out of practice. But slowly—shakily at first—the datapad rises off the table with the help of the Force to hang suspended in the air before Rey. Rey starts to read while everyone stares.

Everyone except Kylo, who grins.

Rey doesn't get very far before she complains, "I can't read this stuff. I don't know what this jargon means. And it's sixty-eight pages of 'whereas' and 'hereinafter' and 'marital estate' words I don't understand. I want a lawyer. I'm not signing anything without a lawyer."

"You can't negotiate this," Cade tells her softly. "It's not worth trying."

Rey of Jakku is undeterred. "I can negotiate anything!"

"Not this," Kylo informs her. "You need leverage to negotiate. And you have none."

"So you want me to sign this now?" Rey demands. "Without reading it? Without understanding it?"

"It would be easiest." This comes from the lead palace lawyer. All the other attorneys present nod and concur.

"Don't make me be persuasive, Rey," Kylo intones a warning. "It will only be hard on you both."

Rey ignores this threat as she peers again at the text of the agreement. "This isn't even my real name. I was born Renata Pam. Not Renata Palpatine. Snoke just made that Palpatine surname up."

"I believe that all of your current and former aliases are captured in Annex A to the agreement." It's the lead palace lawyer guy speaking up again. "Just sign with your finger on the datapad in the indicated places and we can be done with this."

"Do you know how to sign your name, Rey?" Kylo looks smug as he drawls out his sarcasm. "Because if not, I'm sure you can just make an 'X'"

Rey ignores him. She's focused on Cade. "What did he give you for this? Huh?" Her expression is hard. "Was it a new contract? Credits? What did he give you? Because I smell a deal, Cade Biggs," she accuses.

Her husband shakes his head. "Rey, you are looking at this all wrong—"

"Oh, I don't think so! I know how things operate with the Sith-"

Her husband looks uncomfortable and defensive now. "Look, I have two other kids and an ex-wife to provide for and to protect. And I have a business to run and shareholders to please. The First Order is our best customer." Cade Biggs leans forward in his chair. "Rey, please don't make this any worse for me than you already have."

"So this is about credits? You have more credits than you could ever spend," Rey complains.

"It's not just about me," her husband hisses. "We employ hundreds of thousands of people! We are the main industry for our entire world and our economy supports our whole sector. Rey, the damage here could be very ugly. Please don't be stubborn about this."

"You're a coward!" she accuses.

And Cade Biggs refuses to accept that label. "No, I'm not. I'm a realist. I know when a deal has gone bad and when it can be salvaged. This can't be salvaged. Rey, this isn't the first time I have ended a marriage. Sometimes it's best just to call it quits and move on."

"So you're leaving me? With him? What about Titus? You're the only father he's ever known."

"He has his real father now. And that's hard to compete with. Especially when his real father is an Emperor." Cade sighs and makes a face. "Look Rey, it's time for me to step aside."

"But you're a good man, a great role model, someone he can look up to. Titus needs that in his life—"

"I'm not the Emperor, Rey. And I never will be. No matter how much you don't like it, he's his father. And boys need fathers. Rey, as I've thought more about this, I think it might actually explain a lot for Titus. Maybe Emperor Ren can understand him better than I can."

"And what about me?" Rey asks in a small voice.

"This is for the best." Cade isn't meeting her eyes. And he is clearly uncomfortable having this prolonged personal conversation with the six lawyers and Emperor Ren as onlookers in the room. "I will always love you," he tells her in a half-choked voice. "You know that."

"Get on with it," Kylo interjects sharply from the head of the table, looking especially annoyed now.

"Cade, I don't know that," Rey responds without sparing Kylo a glance. "All is see is someone saying they love me and walking away . . . again." She feels abandoned now and it is a soul-crushing feeling that brings up nightmares from her youth. These are the hazy half-dream memories of a little girl who hollered back at a ship while someone clamped down on her arm and told her to be quiet. Rey looks away, biting her bottom lip hard to keep it from trembling as tears threaten. She loses her concentration now and the suspended datapad falls to bounce hard on the tabletop.

"Biggs, you've signed. You're done. Leave us." Kylo barks a dismissal at Cade.

Instantly, her husband complies. Cade and his two lawyers stand to withdraw. They look like they can't wait to leave. But on the way to the door, Cade lingers for a brief moment by her chair. "Good luck, Rey." He bends as if to kiss her but thinks better of it when Kylo glares at him. He settles instead for an awkward pat on the arm. "Goodbye. I wish things were different. But this is for the best. I signed already. You should sign it too."

And then Cade Biggs is gone. It's just Kylo and his lawyers now plus the stormtroopers who stand guard at the corners of the room. And though they still have witnesses, neither she nor Kylo seems to care. Because that's how raw this moment is. "How does it feel to have someone you love walk out on you?" Kylo hisses at her. "I can tell you how it feels. It hurts, Rey! Oh, how it hurts. Feel how it hurts!"

She scowls back. "The difference between you and me is that I'm not going to kill Cade. Because I know this was not his idea. This is all you, you fucking asshole Sith!"

The fancy lawyers all startle at her blunt, profane words and, sensing a threat, the troopers now shift their guns.

"Start signing, Rey." Kylo gestures impatiently to his team and one guy leaps from his chair to place the fallen datapad within reach of her fingertip.

Rey ignores it. "I'm not signing unless you let me see my son first."

"I'm not going to make a deal, Rey. Start signing."

"Why bother? What does it matter?" she scoffs at Kylo. "You're going to do what you want anyway. Why should I paper over your abuse of power?"

Kylo sits back in his chair and crosses his arms. "Because if you don't start signing now I will have the shuttle carrying Cade Biggs shot out of the sky."

Oh.

"It's your choice, Rey. You sign and he lives. Or you don't and he dies."

Rey quickly turns her attention to the datapad now. She begins to awkwardly scrawl a messy signature over and over as the lawyer at her side directs her where. "You're a monster," she mutters.

"I'll take that in the best way," Kylo sneers back. "Keep signing. Did she get them all?"

"Yes. She did, Excellency," confirms the lawyer at her side who scrolls through the document to doublecheck.

"Well done, wife," Kylo approves with a tight smile. "I like it when you are cooperative. I am not a forgiving man, but I now forgive you for twelve years of adultery. Let your conscience trouble you no more, my dear."

"What?" Huh? Rey isn't following.

"You strayed during our long estrangement. I am not happy about it, but now that my family is returned to me I'm in a forgiving mood."

"What are you saying?"

"The last signature there is for our duplicate marriage license. We were married on Starkiller Base but . . . well, you know. Your signature today just confirms the legal civil marriage that took place years ago. It's just a formality, really. To replace those lost records."

"I'm not married to you!" Rey complains. "We talked about it, but we never actually got married, Kylo. I never agreed to marry you."

"Nonsense. We were married by our good friend General Armitage Hux, acting with the blessing of then Leader Snoke."

"That never happened!" Rey objects now with real heat.

"Of course, it did. And what you signed just proves it. We were married years before our son was born. Titus is a Skywalker by blood. This confirms that he is a Skywalker in name. It's what our old Master would have wanted."

"You're saying we are m-married?" Rey is still processing what she's heard. At least she has no fears that Kylo will expect them to live as husband and wife. That humiliating moment when he had turned down the offer of her Light had made that much clear.

"Yes, my dear. It's been almost fifteen happy years now."

Rey's eyes narrow. "This is a civil marriage only, right?" she asks, thinking of the Sith ceremony in the temple Kylo had described long ago. The scary forever commitment she had run from. Remembering all the details, Rey starts fisting her left hand reflexively.

One of the lawyers answers for Emperor Ren now with a statement of the law. "The Empire does not recognize the legality of religious ceremonies. There is no marriage other than civil marriage."

"I don't care what you put on paper," Rey snaps back. "Aside from the optics, he doesn't really either." She stares Kylo down. "How soon can we divorce? Because I refuse to be married to you!"

Kylo shrugs and looks to his lawyers questioningly.

The lead guy considers a moment before he answers. "Under the circumstances, with the long estrangement and the intervening sham marriage to Biggs, it would be best if this settlement confirming the original marriage were in place at least several months before the union is dissolved. Dissolution of the marriage will not endanger the child's legitimacy. He remains born in wedlock."

"Legitimacy? Who cares about that?" Rey finds this whole topic to be unnecessary. And kind of archaic. "Is that what's driving this?"

Kylo answers, "Titus is the true heir by blood and the Force to the Empire. I want our son to be a legitimate heir as well. There are many traditional worlds in my realm where these things matter. Not all societies are trashy easy-come, easy-go Jakku," Kylo informs her smugly. "Besides, I value legalities and transparency. I believe in strong family values." And in a weird way, this last statement is sort of true.

"Whatever." Rey looks away in bitter frustration.

"There's more, if you want to hear it." Kylo is sporting a sly grin now.

"Not really."

But the Sith is undeterred. "The second to the last signature there was for your confession. Rey, you admit to treasonous activities, including an attempt on my life resulting in permanent bodily injury. You admit to everything sufficient to justify your immediate execution."

"Great," she sighs. "Do you have any other good news, Kylo? Because if not, then I'd like to go back to my cell."

Kylo laughs at this remark as he waves a permissive hand at the guards. "Our work here is done. By all means, take her away."

As the guards usher Rey from the room, a thought belatedly occurs to her. And now she can't resist throwing a wrench in Kylo's legal lies. Rey looks over at the lead palace lawyer and innocently asks, "You're quite sure this is all legal? Kylo did tell you that we are brother and sister, right?"

The man blinks and turns wide-eyed to Emperor Ren. "E-Excellency?"

She is marched from the room before she hears Kylo's response.

After that, it's five more days until Rey sees anyone other than her jailers. One morning, the cell door unexpectedly opens and it's Vanee. Rey looks past him expecting to find a squad of troopers who will march her in chains to another conference room or maybe to her execution. But he's alone.

Vanee sees her surprise and smiles. "It's just me. I thought you might enjoy a visit, Princess. May I?" He looks over to the bench built into the wall that constitutes both her bed and her chair.

"Of course."

As usual, Vader's old castle caretaker wears his dramatic full Sith regalia. With great dignity, he settles himself down and pats the bench beside him for her to do the same. "I had to wait for the hullabaloo to die down," he confides. "But I think it's safe now."

"Oh. Does that mean I am forgotten?" Rey asks, her eyes narrowing. She's still not sure what to make of Kylo's news about a confession for treason.

"I wouldn't put it that way," Vanee equivocates. "It's just that the newness of your arrival has abated. And since Lord Ren has delegated your needs to me, I felt it appropriate to look in on you." He leans forward now to ask, "If you are amendable, I will feel it appropriate to look in on you daily about this time. If you can stand my company, that is."

"Oh, yes, please!" Rey is bored out of her mind. She's terribly relieved to see someone other than her jailers.

Vanee reaches now into his heavy robes and produces a muffin wrapped in a napkin. "I saved it for you, Princess. The detention officer reports that you eat very little these days."

"Thank you," Rey manages between bites as she gobbles the delicious muffin. It's much better than the ration muffins she is fed. "What else do you have under there?" Rey asks looking speculatively at his spooky getup.

"Not a lightsaber or a blaster, I'm afraid." Vanee looks a bit apologetic.

"Are you going to get in trouble for this?" she whispers furtively as she licks her fingers with relish. Her eyes find the camera in the corner of the ceiling.

The old man shrugs. "Not if you don't try to escape. Rey, you are to be held here indefinitely. That is unfortunate. So let's you and I make the best of it."

"I-Indefinitely?" She meets old Vanee's eyes and he nods sadly. Rey sighs and looks away. Once she was to be Kylo's forever wife, but now apparently, she is to be his forever prisoner. But at least that's marginally better than execution for treason. Rey takes a deep breath now and rallies. "Tell me about Titus. Please tell me about my son. Is he in a cell too?"

"Oh, no. The young master lives as one of the family. Like you once did with Lord Plagueis at the bunker."

"Tell me more-what is he doing? How is he?" Rey is desperate for reassurance about her son.

"The young master spends his days at school now that the new term has begun. Most evenings, he has dinner with Lord Ren. Sometimes the Master puts him to work in the library. Kittat, you know. Milo knows a bit of it, so he began the instruction. But I believe the young Master has shown himself to be a quick study at languages. He has surpassed Milo's knowledge and now Lord Ren teaches him his Kittat."

"Kylo is training him to be a Sith," she realizes, remembering her own nightly dinners with Snoke full of wine soaked soliloquies about the Force.

"Yes. The Master spends quite a bit of time with young Titus."

Rey's brow furrows. "Is he hurting him?"

"I don't think so." Vanee is candid. "I think they enjoy one another's company for the most part."

"Oh." Rey doesn't know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. "Is Titus happy?"

"The boy seems to be making the best of the situation. And Lord Ren is trying. He is new to parenting, remember, and not known for his patience. Now, Princess, tell me about your son. How he amuses himself. What he likes. This is his home now. I would like to make it familiar and comfortable for him. He has had much change in his life of late."

And that's how Vanee under his guise as head of the Sith's private household comes to quietly subvert his Master. Passing news and anecdotes and a daily smuggled muffin on to Rey to keep her spirits up. And finding the right video games and assorted other tech toys to quietly show up in Titus' room. Vanee is not exactly a go-between, for he declines to pass messages between mother and child. But he manages to pass quite a bit of information all the same. It's the comfort and assurance Rey needs to hear.

"Kylo is going to bust us. It's only a matter of time," the worried Rey says one day as Vanee presents her with a much-desired pillow that he produces from under his voluminous robes. She's not supposed to have any personal effects beyond basic hygiene, but Vanee seems increasingly determined to interpret that category broadly. "Vanee, you're going to get busted."

"Perhaps. But perhaps not. I suspect that the Master will tolerate this. In my experience, the Sith are rarely as fearsome as they pretend to be where their personal affairs are concerned."

"There's a camera in here," she points out to Vanee for the umpteenth time.

And Vanee says what he always says when Rey talks about the camera. "The camera feed only goes to the Master, and he never bothers to look. Plus, the person who will be busted is me, Princess. Not you. I shall assume the full risk."

"It's not wise to upset a Sith," Rey warns from her own experience.

"Yes, yes, I know. Never cross a Sith, never trust a Sith, Sith do not lie, Sith do not love, Sith do not forgive. Rey, I've heard it all. And I've known four Sith in my time. Trust me, there are always exceptions where family is concerned."

Still, Rey looks over at Vanee with real concern. For, like Milo, Vanee has been a scrupulously loyal and discrete servant of the Sith for decades. Snoke had rewarded this wizened old man with immortality for his righteously heroic defense of Vader's castle after Endor. Old Vanee had stood his ground to refuse admittance to Rebellion invaders, informing them that the Jedi Skywalker was welcome to come claim his inheritance but no other Rebel scum would set foot in Lord Vader's home.

"Rey, you may be in a cell, but you are still a part of this family and I am charged with looking after the family." Vanee gives her a thoughtful look now. "Family is why you are here. Lord Ren did not want another generation of Sith to grow up estranged. That is the real reason why you are imprisoned, Rey. For separating the Skywalkers yet again."

"I don't like you taking these risks for me." Rey has dragged enough people into the mess of her and Kylo already.

But the unrepentant old caretaker just grins conspiratorially. He might look and act like the grim reaper, but Vanee can be charming when he wants to be. And with Rey, he is ruthlessly cheerful most days. "If Lord Ren will not tolerate my mischief, perhaps we can a share a cell," he decides. "And then Milo will be the one to bring us muffins."

Rey shoots him a sideways glance. "Does Milo know what you're up to?"

"That old goat suspects I'm sure. It's a good thing you were not assigned to him, Rey. Lord Plagueis found the perfect unquestioning stooge in Milo."

"I like Milo. A lot."

"Don't tell anyone-least of all him-but I do too, Princess. Still, he is insufferably pompous these days now that he represents a Sith Emperor and not just a Sith." Vanee sniffs and makes a face that contorts his leonine features comically. "That old goody two shoes is awfully straitlaced for a man who serves the Sith. I myself am a little less strictly obedient."

Rey raises an eyebrow. "However did Vader let you get away with that?" she wonders aloud.

Vanee chuckles softly. "Let's just say that Lord Vader could be a little less than obedient himself at times." The old man has that faraway look in his eye now that he gets when he remembers fondly his former Master. "Princess, Lord Vader would have given anything to have the second chance Lord Ren gets now. To have his wife back alive and his family reunited. The Master is very lucky. He does not realize yet how lucky he is."

"Am I supposed to feel lucky, Vanee? Because I don't feel very lucky."

"The Force is not fair," the old man observes sagely. "I may not have the Force but I've seen a few things in my long years, Princess."

"I'm never getting out of here, am I?"

"Never say never, my dear. Aren't you the Light? Aren't you hope? If you're discouraged, then we are all in trouble."

"I don't feel very hopeful," Rey says glumly. "Will you come back tomorrow?" She asks this each day at the conclusion of his visit.

"But of course. I will need to retrieve the datapad I plan to accidentally on purpose leave here," he tells her with a roguish wink. "Don't worry. I made sure it's fully charged. Ready for some binge-watching, Princess?"


	11. Chapter 11

Having Rey locked away downstairs is far more of a temptation than Kylo had anticipated. Resolutely, he has avoided seeing her again. It's been weeks now since that ugly morning with the lawyers. And Kylo doesn't really have a pretext to justify another meeting anyway. So now and then when he's feeling especially lonely, he takes peeks at her using the camera in the cell. But mostly he tries to avoid thinking about her.

It will get better with time, he tells himself. Things usually do. But days like today, it seems like a lost cause. Because Rey's words from that first day in the hallway wander into his mind at odd times. _I'll be your Light again._ He wishes he could unhear those words. Because her Light so close and yet so far is like a siren's call to his mind. Beckoning him. Tormenting him. Comforting him. Grating on him. More and more, he thinks Rey's proximity is a mistake. Because she is on the edge of his mind constantly.

He complains to Nestor about it when they are drinking together one night after he's sent Titus off to bed. "This is not a good situation."

"So change it." Nestor, as always, wants to solve the problem. His friend is practical like that. Like Rey.

"Yeah," Kylo hedges. "I've been thinking about moving her to the facility on Chandrila. But I kind of like keeping her around."

Nestor takes another drink of his beer and asks with feigned nonchalance, "You guys talking?"

"No," he gripes. "I haven't seen her in weeks now. And then she called me a fucking asshole Sith."

Nestor chuckles. "Hey, bro, if the shoe fits . . . "

Yeah, Kylo thinks, that whole divorce meeting hadn't been his best moment. He had thought that hurting Rey would make him feel better. Revenge is a Sith thing, after all. But it hadn't helped. Every time he had clicked on the camera feed from her cell later that day, Rey had been sobbing. And that sight didn't satisfy him. More than anything, it had made him want to stomp down to her cell, take her in his arms, and let her cry on his shoulder. But he had resisted the urge. She had been crying over Cade Biggs, after all.

Kylo drinks some more. "The kid keeps asking for her," he reveals.

"Of course, he does," Nestor responds. "That's his mom. The kid loves his mom. That's a good thing."

"Yeah, I guess. It's just . . . this is never how I wanted it to be." Kylo sighs in frustration. He had never wanted Rey to be his prisoner. But he's not sure what else to do with her. Because he's afraid to let her go again. But every time they meet, it's a bitter scream fest as he and Rey hurt each other some more. He can't live with Rey, but he's not sure that he wants to go back to living without her either. All in all, it's fucked up. Kylo shakes his head and looks away. "This isn't working."

"So change it. Have you thought about letting her go back to Biggs?" Nestor suggests tentatively.

"I think I kind of ruined that for her."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I ruined it."

"Okay, so let her start over here on Coruscant on her own. Then she'll be close by to see the kid. You know-she can live like your ex-wife. And you guys can work out some sort of visitation and custody arrangements."

Kylo is annoyed at this suggestion. "She stole my son, remember? And she knew enough to know what that meant to me. To me, to the Force, and to the galaxy. Separating Skywalkers usually results in a lot of collateral damage, Nestor."

"Is that why she left? Because she was pregnant?" The moment the words leave his mouth, Nestor instantly thinks better of his question. His friend backs down, mumbling, "Forget that. I withdraw the question. I'm not trying to bring up bad stuff. Water under the bridge, I know."

Kylo shakes his head. "That's not why she left. She didn't know at the time. She found out afterwards."

Nestor thinks a moment. "So she didn't really steal your kid then," he concludes.

"Yes, she did."

"Oh, come on, Kylo," his friend and Senate Chancellor calls him out. "Were you expecting her just to appear one day with your kid after you ordered her killed? She probably figured you would take the boy and finish the job right then and there."

Kylo grits his teeth. "She should have told me."

"How are you so sure the Force didn't save your kid with a little help from Rey? All so they could live so you could find them later. That sort of stuff happens in your family, you know."

"That's the point! She knew precisely what was a stake. And are you forgetting that she cut my hand off?"

Nestor shrugs. "You tried to kill her," he points out. "Call it even, Sith, and move on. Let bygones be bygones. Come on, Kylo, it's not just about what you want anymore. Put your differences aside for the kid's sake."

It's good advice. But hard advice. "I don't know if I can," Kylo admits. Because having Rey around has dredged up regrets and disappointments he had buried long ago. And years later, they feel just as raw. But having his kid around feels like a second chance he can't afford to blow. Titus raises the stakes considerably. Because he's his kid, he's his chance at an Apprentice, and he's the future of the Force. Nestor is right. It's not just about what he wants anymore.

Kylo makes a face and then chugs some more on his beer. "It's weird seeing her again. No one talks to me like she does."

Nestor grunts. "You might need more of that in your life. You get too much bowing and scraping these days. Maybe it would be good to have someone other than me call you an asshole every now and then."

"Yeah. Maybe."

Nestor gives him a look. "Is she still in solitary?"

"Yeah." He avoids Nestor's side eye.

"Have you let the kid see her?"

"No." Again, he avoids his friend's reproachful look.

"Shit, Kylo, you're making me regret that I ever told you about them. The goal wasn't to make all of you miserable. I did it for you. So you could find your son. And not because he's a magic Skywalker but because he's your son. And if I had a son, I would want to know him and to help raise him." Nestor always gives him straight talk and tonight is no different. "Look, Boss, the first rule of kids is 'Do no harm.' In other words, don't fuck them up. And keeping their mom in solitary in the basement sounds like it's gonna fuck your boy up. Careful, Sith, or in a few years you might find him stealing your sword to bust out his mom."

That's actually a realistic scenario, Kylo knows. For hadn't his grandfather become a war hero at age nine? Who knows what Titus might be capable of at age twelve. And it's partly why Kylo feels like a failure in all of this. Because he can't see a good solution and he fears that over time everything will just spiral even worse. "We were supposed to be the generation without all the drama," he says softly. "I wanted us to be happy."

Nestor takes this lament as his cue to change the topic. "Well, you've got the kid at least. How's it feel being a dad?"

"That's weird too."

"It's new. Hey, at least you missed the up-all-night-screaming and potty training phases. Those are the worst."

"Yeah, I come in the picture just in time for puberty," Kylo complains.

Nestor laughs. "Hey, I've got girls. I let their mother handle that stuff."

"Yeah, well, Cesi's not in a cell in a basement."

"You control that," Nestor reminds him.

"Yeah, I know."

Rey's proximity is worst at night when he spends an hour or two with Titus. Kylo has begun teaching his son meditation, not wanting to rush things but more to give his boy a firm foundation in the Force. To nurture the boy's innate connection with the most basic teaching. For the Force is like a muscle, and it must be used and conditioned to strengthen. So that it becomes unconscious like an instinct or a reflex.

But the hour nightly Kylo spends immersed in the Force with his son is the worst time of all. For when Kylo is relaxed and drifting in the Force, all he senses is her. _I'll be your Light again._

Titus senses it too. "Mom," he breathes aloud that first lesson, catching Kylo's attention. "She's here!"

"Yes," he confirms, unable to repress his proud smile. For these are his boy's first steps into a larger world.

In a way, Kylo is grateful for his son's complete ignorance. His boy will have no Jedi dogma to unlearn and no bad habits to break. He is a blank slate ready to learn. Kylo sees immediately that Titus takes after his mother in the Force. He has the same effortless and unconscious connection. Most of the time, the kid doesn't even know he's using the Force. And so, when Titus makes a conscious effort to try, he has trouble focusing. It's nothing that time and practice won't cure, Kylo knows. He resolves to be patient, for his boy has amazing potential.

"Everyone has their own unique imprint in the Force," Kylo teaches now. "The closer you are to a person-either in emotion or proximity-the easier it is to recognize them in the Force. With some focus, you can even speak to another Force-user's mind."

"Why have I never noticed this before?" the boy wonders aloud. "And how come I don't feel you in the Force, Master?"

Ah, Titus has noticed this. "The Sith cloak their Force imprint," Kylo explains. "For defense and for stealth. It is a longstanding tradition from the Old Republic era when the Sith were surrounded by hostile Jedi. Titus, hiding in the Force is the first lesson of being a Sith. One day, when you are my Apprentice and we begin your formal instruction, I will teach you."

He watches as his son closes his eyes to concentrate. "Yes, that's definitely Mom. Can I see her?" Damn, the kid sounds so hopeful.

But Kylo shoots him down. "No."

"Why not?"

"I said no."

Then the kid starts to pout. "I want my mother."

"You're not a little boy any longer."

And now the kid starts to whine. "I want my mother."

"She lied to you, remember?"

"I don't care if she lied. She's still my mother. That's not a lie. I want to see my mother."

This is the same frustrating exchange that father and son repeat several times a week. Is his son's forgiveness the Light in him showing? Or is his insistence on his mother a possessive streak of Dark? Kylo isn't sure. But one night Kylo gets the bright idea to make this conflict a teachable moment. "You may speak with your mother in the Force," he permits the boy, feeling very pleased with himself like he's the Sith Master Father-of-the-Year.

Titus instantly perks up. "You can do that?"

Kylo nods, channeling Snoke as he says, "With the Force as your ally, all things are possible."

"How?" The boy is excited now. "How do I talk to her?"

Kylo considers a moment and then decrees. "Figure it out."

"You're not going to teach me?" Titus looks dismayed.

"You can do it. Figure it out."

The kid needs a challenge, Kylo reasons. And unlike the Jedi with their rigid dogma and rules, the Sith approach the Force intuitively. Snoke had taught by doing, not by talking. The Force is to be experienced, his old Master would say. It is a mystery to be discovered. Find your natural talent in the Force, Plagueis had urged the young Kylo Ren. We all have differing strengths and weaknesses. Young Kylo's strength had lay in mind reading and telekinesis. He's betting that for Titus it will be the same. Because, you know-like father, like son.

He and Titus are just playing around right now anyway. Kylo is not actually teaching his son the Force yet. He's only introducing some preliminary concepts. Old Snoke had always cautioned against rushing the Force, complaining that the Jedi had stunted many of their most promising padawans by beginning their instruction too young. The raison d'etre of that cult was control, Snoke had jeered. Yoda and his brethren feared uncontrolled power in the Force and so they adhered to rigid traditions and limiting dogma to brainwash Force-strong children from a very young age. That's why the Jedi declined to teach older children, even nearly rejecting the nine-year-old prodigy Anakin Skywalker on grounds he was too old. But the real reason, Snoke maintained, was that older children are more independent and less accepting. They are more inclined to ask why than to seek to conform and please.

In contrast, the Dark Side extols the virtues of the individual. There is no conformity here, Kylo assures Titus. He teaches his son that the Sith prize power and ambition. It's why we are aggressive, Kylo explains, why we like to control. We can be obsessive and relentless too at times. For those characteristics are a natural consequence of powerful emotion. We Sith harness the passion of our desires to focus our power. But we are logical and methodical in achieving our goals. That is why the Dark Side has such majesty, Kylo tells his son. The Shadow Force combines the head with the heart, it allies reason with emotion, it embraces the full range of human experience and desires. From love to hate, from anger to sorrow, from pride to shame, from power to helplessness, the Dark Side accepts it all as a means to empowerment. It lets you own who you are and glory in it.

What about the Light? His boy is as interested in the Light as the Dark, he sees. It's probably because Kylo has told him that Rey is the Light. But whatever the reason for the boy's interest, it pleases Kylo all the same. For Titus is a Skywalker born to tread the uneasy line between Light and Dark. The ancient Sith of old had disdained the Light, but his wise Master had warned against this folly. He taught that you can be Sith and still admire and appreciate the Light. And Kylo now passes on this wisdom to his son.

The Force is a continuum from Light to Dark, he instructs. People are like that too. We are each a mix of Light and Dark. The two sides coexist in the universe and in ourselves. None of us is all Light or all Dark. But you call yourself a Dark Sith, his boy points out as he tries to understand. Then Kylo reveals that in his younger days he had more Light. But Darkness had overtaken it as he matured. Titus thinks a moment. Master, can you find your Light again? And the unexpected question stumps Kylo for a moment.

That is his opening to discuss the riddle that even old Plagueis could not explain: the balance of the Force. His Master could sense it, could yearn for it, but could never truly achieve it. And now, that task falls to the next generation. To us, he tells his earnest looking son. Solemnly now, Kylo reveals the insight that his wise Sith Master had discovered: that Jedi or Sith, in the end, the Force defaults to balance. In the aggregate and in an individual. When you get too far to one extreme of Dark or Light, the Force will call you back towards the center. In time, he assures his son, you will learn to recognize the impulse. The pull to balance is why a Dark Sith like myself is moved now and then to mercy and to compassion. Maybe even to forgiveness and absolution. And it's why the purest among the Light are drawn to show compassion for those in Darkness. Find any prison or slum, and you will find agents of the Light ministering there. Social workers, teachers, the religious, the do-gooders among us. They are compelled to try to help, to forgive life's worst examples, to save souls and soothe hurts. It's a fool's errand, for the sins of the world persist. But hope springs eternal for those in the Light. And we are all better for it, he teaches.

Old Plagueis had hypothesized that the greatest of all Force-users would be the Sith who could step into the Light with ease and then rejoin the Darkness, a man who could transcend the distinctions of Jedi and Sith to bring balance to the Force. Looking at his goofy kid, Kylo wonders if it's him. Will his son be the one to fulfill the prophesy long foretold? If so, then Kylo worries that he is not up to the task of teaching. Not for the first time has Kylo wished his old Master were still around. That Darth Plagueis himself might be the one to teach his boy. For though Kylo has resolved not be his uncle spouting endless long-winded lectures, he finds himself doing it anyway. And he worries this just means that when it comes to teaching, he is doing it all wrong.

"If you can teach me the Dark, then who will teach me the Light?" Titus asks.

The very question brings home to Kylo how innocent his son is of all the bitter Force war that has come before him. The boy has no appreciation of how revolutionary his question truly is. It had taken the complete destruction of the Jedi Order and the loss of many great Sith to get to this place. A place where a former Jedi Padawan turned Sith Emperor looks to the son he will one day take on as his Apprentice. A place where a Skywalker finally gets to rear another Skywalker so that one day they can rule the Force and the galaxy as father and son. This moment upends everything the old Sith Rule of Two contemplated, it flies in the face of all the dogma and limitations the Jedi taught, and it defies three generations of patricide among the clan of the Chosen Ones. Damn, Kylo wishes his Master had lived to see this, for young Titus is unwittingly every bit the iconoclast that old Plagueis had been.

This boy is the promise of the future, Kylo sees clearly. And perhaps, he will be the redemption of us all.

Taking a deep breath, Kylo once more admits to his boy an uncomfortable truth. "Titus, I had hoped that your mother could teach you the Light. That she would be the counterbalancing influence to me. I wanted you to learn from her too."

"I can't learn from her if she's in jail."

"I know. Try to reach her in the Force."

"Okay."

Later that night, Kylo is in bed with his new girl getting busy when hears Titus awkwardly calling out to Rey in the Force.

 _Mom?_ _Are you there, Mom?_

It repeats. It's distracting. Finally, the boy falls silent and Kylo thinks he's given up. But no. He hears his son again and this time there's no self-assurance. All confidence has fled. It's the voice of a worried kid who wants comforting.

 _Mommy?_ _Are you okay, Mommy?_ _I miss you, Mommy._

Fuck. That pretty much killed the moment. Kylo rolls off his new girl and sighs aloud. "Rey . . . "

Now he's thinking of another needy boy who had wanted his mommy. Only his mommy had been too busy building the New Republic to pay much attention. Not like Rey who sits locked away in a cell downstairs pining for the son she desperately wants to see. Fuck. This isn't the way it was supposed to be. Not for him or for his son. But this is good for the kid, Kylo reminds himself. Spare the rod and spoil the little Sith, after all.

 _Mommy?_ _Are you there?_ _I need to talk to you, Mommy._

Fuck. He doesn't want to hear this. But night after night, he does. And Kylo can barely take it. Maybe mind reading and mental connections will not be his kid's talents. Oh well. If that's the case, then maybe he should just move Rey to a maximum security prison off-world and be done with her. It's tempting. Very tempting. But now Kylo has to give his kid a chance to learn the skill first. Ugh, he wishes he had never had this bright idea.

The kid is frustrated and stuck. He comes to Kylo to complain for help. "I can't reach her. I've tried, but I can't reach her."

And worn down from listening to his son's anguished pleas in the Force, Kylo decides to offer some help. "Focus on your mother's Force imprint now. Tell me about how your mother is doing now. What is she feeling?"

And, as usual, his boy has difficulty focusing in the Force. "I can't do it!" he gripes with impatience. "I can't focus."

So Kylo tries a different tactic. "I've seen your school records. I saw all those reports of fighting boys years your senior and hurting them. Tell me, Titus, how does a boy of twelve take on three sixteen-year olds and win? Leaving them bloody with complaining parents."

"What's that got to do with this? Those kids just made me angry."

"I thought so," Kylo nods. "Then get angry now. You're angry at me about your mother, right? Focus on that anger. And then focus in the Force and think of your mother."

"Alright," the boy reluctantly agrees. It takes him a few tries, but it works. Titus has his eyes closed but he's grinning ear to ear as he locates his mother in the Force. "I think she might be talking to someone," he posits hesitantly.

"Yes. Good. It's probably Vanee. He's in her cell twice a day now to visit and I pretend I don't know it. What is she feeling? Focus on her feelings."

"She's worried. It's about me. They're talking about me."

Kylo nods. "Your mother loves you. This is good, Titus. Because once you can sense another's feelings, you are halfway into their head. Go from here."

"Wait—you're not going to teach me the rest?"

"No. Figure it out."

And now, the late-night whining in the Force begins again in earnest. _Mom?_ _Are you there, Mom?_ _Can you hear me?_ _I have something to tell you, Mom._

It goes on and on some nights as his determined kid keeps trying to reach his mother. "Rey," Kylo sighs again as once more he gets up from bed too pensive to sleep. "Rey, answer him." Kylo says this both aloud and in the Force. Does she not hear Titus? Why doesn't she answer Titus?

And then, Kylo realizes that he knows why. Rey has always hated anyone impinging on her thoughts. She had tolerated it in bed but no other times. And Kylo had respected her wishes. So it turns out that Rey isn't too good at these mental connections either. In fact, Kylo's not sure that Rey had ever initiated a connection with him, come to think of it. This is two novices—one of them a beginner and the other out of practice-groping for each other's minds in the Force.

 _Mommy?_ _I miss you, Mommy._ _Listen, he says that you are safe in your cell unless you try to escape or you try to kill him._ _So don't try anything, okay?_ _Okay?_

Ugh. Kylo can't take much more of this. So one morning, he asks Titus how it is coming, knowing full well the truth of the matter. The frustrated boy looks away as he admits defeat. And that's not good. So Kylo takes a page out of old Snoke's playbook and offers an incentive. Maybe that will hurry things along.

"I tell you what, kid," Kylo decides. "If you connect with your mother in the Force, then I will let you see her." Dangling a reward in front of Titus has the desired effect. As soon as the kid gets back to his room later that night, he starts in earnest.

 _Mom_ _. . ._ _hear me_ _. . ._ _Mom, please_ _. . ._ _hear me_ _. . ._

It's yet another unsuccessful attempt. Kylo girds himself for another fruitless hour of his kid whining in the Force.

 _Mom_ _. . ._ _hear me_ _. . ._ _Mom, please_ _. . ._ _hear me_ _. . ._

And this time, the boy succeeds in making the connection. And now Kylo senses Rey's mind join in the conversation.

 _T-Titus?_ _Titus, is that you?_

 _Mom!_ _Mom!_ _It's you!_ _Oh, Mom, we can do this!_ _This really works._ _Wow, this is cool._ _This is so cool._

 _Titus, are you okay?_ _Are you safe and happy?_

 _Yeah, I'm fine._ _I guess._ _Another new school._ _Their soccer team sucks._ _The uniform is itchy._ _Whatever, Mom, it's fine._ _How are you?_ _I miss you._

 _Oh, I miss you, too._ _I worry about you._ _I wish I could see you._ _I miss my Titus._ _I would give anything to see you._

 _I miss Dad._ _He's gone for good, isn't he?_ _I sent messages to Sasha and Malia and they never replied._ _Mom, they never answered._ _Are they gone too?_ _I think they're gone._

 _Probably._ _Dad is gone, Titus._ _For good._ _He's not coming back._

 _That's what I thought._

 _I'm sorry._ _It's my fault, I know._ _Tell me about you._ _Are you really okay?_ _Tell me the truth._

 _I'm fine._ _Are you fine?_ _Because he won't let me see you-_

 _I'm great._ _It's actually really nice down here._ _Well, except for not being able to see you._ _Now, enough about me._ _Tell me what you are doing and how you are._

 _I'm learning the Force._ _He's so different from Dad._ _I can't explain it._

 _I know._ _Baby, be careful._ _He's a dangerous man._ _Don't make him angry._ _Please don't make him angry._ _Listen to me-your goal is to survive._ _That's what matters most._ _I want you to do and to say what you need to survive._ _The Force has been with you since before you were born, but you need to protect yourself with good decisions._ _Search your feelings, listen to your instincts, and remember that your goal is to survive._

 _Mom, we went to Jakku._

 _Mom?_ _Mom, are you still there?_

 _Yes._

 _Mom, I don't care that you lied._ _About Jakku or anything else._ _I know I'm supposed to be angry about it, but I don't care._ _I think I might have lied too in your case._ _I'm just sorry it means that I have no dad now._ _And no sisters too, I guess._ _I miss them._ _I miss home._ _This place is really formal all the time._

 _Titus, I wanted to give you a better life than I had growing up. I'm not sure if that's how it has ended up or not._ _But I tried my best._ _It has hurt a lot innocent people._ _That's sort of how it works in your father's family, I'm afraid._

 _Look, I get it now._ _I get a lot of things now, Mom._ _I'm not mad._ _I promise I'm not mad._

 _Thank you._ _Listen, I can't be with you now but I have not abandoned you, Titus._ _You need to know that._ _Whatever happens in life, whatever he drags you into, I will never leave you._ _You will always be my son._ _Dark Side, Light Side or no side. I will love you no matter what._

 _I know, Mom._ _Mom-_

 _Yeah?_

 _I think you're really brave._ _But why the Hell did you come to Coruscant for a party?_ _That was a stupid thing to do._

 _Titus, it seemed okay at the time._ _A lot of my mistakes seemed okay at the time._ _Like your father._

 _He's never going to let you out._ _He might let me see you, but he's not going to let you out._

 _It's fine._ _It's really nice down here._ _I'll be fine._ _Truly, it's not so bad._

 _I can tell you're lying._ _Somehow, the Force tells me when you are lying._

 _Mom?_ _Mom?_

 _I'm here._

 _Will I ever see you again?_ _See you as free, I mean._ _Not in a cell._

 _Oh, Titus, what does your heart tell you?_ _Search your feelings and listen to your instincts._ _That's how the Force will speak to you._ _Now, be brave and don't look back for me._ _Make the best of your life now and stay alive._ _I will do the same._ _Hopefully, the Force will be with us-_

 _No!_ _I'm not losing you like I lost Dad, Sasha and Malia._ _Mom, I will get you out of there._ _I promise!_ _He said Vader choked people with the Force._ _I'm going to learn that trick and then I will choke a trooper and steal his gun and come find you._

 _NO!_ _No, Titus!_

 _I can shoot a gun._ _And I can kill someone._ _I've done it already._ _It was way easier than I thought-_

 _NO!_

 _But-_

 _Listen to me-your father is a Sith Master and he owns the Force. There's nothing you can do to help me._ _This is between me and him._ _Do not get involved._ _Do not defy your father._

 _But Mom-_

 _He's hearing everything you say now._ _Trust me, he's listening in._ _Do not underestimate the power of the Emperor or you will suffer my fate._ _Titus, I want things to end up better for you._

 _This is all because of him, isn't it?_

 _I'm at fault, too._ _I made a lot of mistakes._ _With your father._ _And then with Dad._

 _Oh._ _Well, I don't care._ _Because if he won't let you out, I will get you out._ _Mom, I'm going to learn everything I can from him._ _I will become more powerful than he can possibly imagine._ _And then when he least suspects, I will strike him down._ _Right now, I'm just the learner, but someday I will be the Master._

 _Oh, Titus, no!_ _You can't kill your own father!_ _This is what I feared for you._ _This is why I hid the Force from you._ _To protect you from your father and to protect you from yourself._ _So you would never know that you are part of his cursed clan._

 _Listen to me, I don't want this conflict!_ _It won't solve anything and it will make things worse._ _And trust me, your father doesn't want it either._ _Your father and I have many differences, but on this we will agree._ _We want no more Skywalkers killing Skywalkers._ _Whether it's Dark and Light or Dark and Dark, you two are what remains of that family. You and your father have got to learn to live together for your own sake._ _And for the sake of the galaxy._

 _But he's keeping you prisoner!_ _And he admits that he tried to kill you!_

 _Titus—_

 _I hate him!_ _Mom, I think I hate him!_

 _Don't say that!_ _There is good in him._ _I know, because I loved the good in him._ _There just wasn't enough._ _And back then there was a war going on and we were young and foolish._

 _I don't care!_ _I'm still going to kill him if he won't let you out._

 _Mom?_ _Mom, where are you?_ _Stay with me, Mom._

 _I love you._ _But I can't listen to this, Titus._ _It could get you killed._

 _Mom?_ _Mom?_ _Mom!_

The conversation ends and Rey is the one to shut it down. She's trying to protect the kid, Kylo knows. He recalls now the desperate woman who had propositioned him in a hallway in order to protect her son. Tonight had been yet another example. It's a mother's love like Kylo himself never knew. He's jealous of it a bit. But glad too. For at least in this respect, his son is better off than he was.

Still, he cannot unhear what he has heard tonight. So Kylo ruminates for a long time on its meaning. Thinking of the tales he has heard from Milo who was the go-between when old Plagueis once tried to broker an alliance with his son Vader and his grandson Skywalker. Two Sith had plotted in an uneasy truce to bring home the prodigal Jedi son. By the time it was all over, Vader was dead. Kylo thinks too of his uncle's version of the Death Star throne room fight, of his staunch insistence that at the end Vader had embraced the Light. Old Snoke had scoffed at this tale, telling Kylo that Vader's act of defiance towards his Master to save his son did not make him a Jedi. On the contrary, Snoke had maintained, it had made him a true Sith and a loving father. Just thinking of Snoke now also reminds Kylo of the heartbreaking scene on Crait when his own beloved surrogate father had sacrificed so that he himself might live. His uncle had died in the process.

For a long time after Crait, Kylo had wondered at the meaning of his uncle's death. In killing Luke Skywalker, had Kylo finished what his grandfather had started by ending the Jedi Order? Or had he made meaningless his grandfather's sacrifice on Endor? Kylo still isn't certain. But he is more certain now than ever that the cycle of death in his family must end. Before tonight, Kylo had mostly assumed that the eradication of the Jedi-Sith conflict had largely achieved that goal. But now, eavesdropping on the not-quite teenaged boastings on his only son, Kylo is wary. Because maybe in a Skywalker Sith father-son duo there will be just as much, if not more, deadly conflict.

After all, tonight is not the first time his son has threatened to kill him on behalf of Rey.

And that gets Kylo thinking about the role of mothers in his contentious clan. His grandfather had been sold out of slavery to the Jedi at a tender age, told to forget his mother and to ignore her suffering. Anakin Skywalker had returned ten years later just in time to hold his tortured and dying mother in his arms. How much had that mattered, Kylo wonders. Surely, a lot. But the next generation too had been motherless, with his grandmother dead under mysterious circumstances. His mother and his uncle had each been adopted into stable family units, but even those mother-figures fell as casualties in the end. Kylo knows that he himself is the luckiest so far, since his mother had been alive, if mostly absent, during his childhood. And then, in adulthood, she had been the enemy. Is it worse to grow up without a mother or to grow up with a mother who isn't interested? Again, Kylo isn't certain. But this current generation puts a new twist on the old predicament. For his boy has a live mother who is interested but unavailable. And he himself is the cause.

This is the family dysfunction that has plagued the Skywalkers and left a legacy of death in its wake. This is precisely what Kylo has wanted to avoid for his own children. And it was the obvious outcome of Rey's ruse with Cade Biggs. Since the discovery of Rey and Titus, Kylo has focused on himself as the victim in it all. But now he realizes that the true victim might be his son. The boy who foolish, misguided Rey so completely loves.

Love isn't supposed to hurt. But more and more, Kylo realizes it does.

The next morning, Kylo is the first down to breakfast, where he lies in wait. His son wanders in next before Milo and Vanee. The new girl should be along soon too when she's done primping. But he and Titus are alone for now.

"Any progress?" Kylo asks the boy casually as they wait for the others. "Did you make contact with your mother?"

"No." Titus says this a little too quickly. He's nervous about the lie. But determined too, Kylo sees. For the kid looks him squarely in the eye as he says it.

And this is what he has expected. With a sigh, Kylo raises his hands and blasts his son with a quick bolt of Force lightning. It's not enough to hurt him badly, but it's enough to throw him hard against the far wall. And to get his full attention. Predictably, Titus is shocked.

Kylo stalks to loom over the boy. Titus has slid down the wall to sit sprawled on the floor, looking up gaping at his father.

"Sith do not lie," Kylo admonishes his son sternly. "Don't you ever think to lie to me again. I know that you spoke to your mother in the Force last night. And I know what you told her. All of it. There is nothing you can ever hide from me. Do not think to try."

The boy frowns. "Yes, Sir," he grumbles.

Kylo raises an eyebrow at him. "Yes, what?"

"Yes, Master."

He stares his son down now. "Titus, do not set yourself in opposition to me. You cannot win and in the end, we will both lose. We are father and son, we will be Master and Apprentice when you are a little older, and we will be fellow Sith. We are allies, not enemies."

"Yes, Master."

Satisfied, Kylo reaches down to offer Titus his hand. It is accepted and the Sith hauls his boy to his feet. "What the fuck was that?" the boy asks, curiosity getting the better of him as he straightens his now rumpled school uniform.

"Force lightning. It is an advanced skill."

And now old Vanee lumbers into the room completely unaware of what has transpired. "Master," the old servant intones with his habitual stately morning bow.

"Vanee, tell the droid to set one more place for breakfast this morning. We have a guest joining us."

"Very well, Master. Will the Chancellor be stopping by?"

"Not this morning. The prisoner will be joining us. Do go fetch her, Vanee."

"P-Prisoner?" his son echoes, turning his way. "Do you mean Mom?"

Kylo nods. "Sith do not lie, Titus, and that includes me. I told you that if you made contact, that you could see your mother. Now is your chance."


	12. Chapter 12

Vanee is early today. Rey has wet hair from her shower and is still wrapped in a towel when he is admitted to her cell. She's fully covered, but instantly, the old man covers his eyes and turns his back. His exaggerated modesty makes her giggle. But then, Rey remembers the conversation with Titus in the Force last night. And suddenly, she is concerned about the reason for his visit.

"You didn't come to bring me a muffin, did you?" she asks to his turned back.

"No. Please get dressed, my dear. You have been summoned."

Summoned. Vanee's voice is animated and happy, but Rey's heart sinks all the same. Yes, it's as she feared. She is being called to account by Kylo.

"I understand," Rey says softly. "Just a moment." She pulls on her rumpled shirt and pants. It's all she wears these days, for a bra and undies are considered non-essential for prisoners and something of a risk for those in solitary who might be tempted to take matters into their own hands. As if a survivor like herself would ever be inspired to hang herself with her bra. But whatever. Commando it is again today. Life elsewhere in the palace might be posh, but it's no frills down here in Rey's cell.

"You can turn around now, Vanee," Rey says as she finishes wringing more water from her hair. She pulls it back in her usual ponytail.

The old man is grinning when he turns around. His eyes sweep over her rumpled and slept-in prison garb and return to linger on her still dripping hair that smells strongly of shampoo. Rey reads the disapproval in his eyes but he says nothing. "You are being summoned to join the family for breakfast this morning, Princess."

Her eyes narrow. "Why?"

"It is the Master's request. The young Master will be there though."

"Titus? Titus will be there?" Her eyes light up with hope.

"Yes," old Vanee actually claps his hands with glee at her reaction. "This is your chance to see your son."

And now, Rey can't wait to be out of her cell. She is impatient as the detention crew tethers first her hands and then her feet and then connects those binders with a cord that reduces her gait to a slow shuffle. She couldn't run, fight or climb now if she tried. And she can't scratch her nose without practically doing a high kick. But whatever—she's going to see Titus. And even if it's for a long lecture before Kylo puts his sword though her neck, at least she will die happy because she will have seen her son one last time.

Finally, Rey and her minders march forth from the detention area in a small parade. First Vanee in his slow, stately glide and then Rey surrounded by a squad of troopers with one giant red armored Imperial guard brandishing a lit Force pike to her back. Is she supposed to be flattered that Kylo thinks she's so dangerous? Because all her Force-push and blaster bolt freezing skills aside, unarmed Rey is not up to taking on seven heavily equipped men by herself. Not with her mobility compromised in an unfamiliar palace full of guards. She's brave, but she isn't stupid. And, well, like always, Rey is not about to take foolish risks to get herself killed.

It takes forever to get where they are going. They head through the area she recognizes as the business wing of the palace and past what appears to be public, ceremonial type rooms. The security tightens noticeably now and the hallways empty out completely. She must be in the private quarters, Rey surmises. And even this feels huge. But maybe it's just that Rey is impatient to see Titus. Whatever is coming, she doesn't care so long as she sees her son.

They come to a halt in a corridor and Vanee instructs the guards to remain outside. Then he turns to Rey. "The family gathers for breakfast every morning just like in Lord Plagueis' household. Everyone is inside, your son included. You are here to join us." Vanee must clearly see that she is nervous. He gives her a reassuring smile. "Are you quite ready, my dear?"

Rey takes a deep breath and nods. Then Vanee opens the door.

She never gets much past the threshold. "Mom!" Titus leaps up from his seat to nearly tackle her in a bear hug. It's the best thing. Her boy holds on and won't let go. Titus is nearly as tall as she is now, but he's got his head tucked into her shoulder and his hands around her neck like when he was a little boy.

Rey can't help it. She instantly starts to cry.

"Awww—don't cry, Mom. Don't cry." For a moment, Titus pulls back and he looks like he might cry too. Maybe that's why he smothers her again in a hug.

"I c-can't h-help it, Titus. I m-missed you." Rey's shackles don't allow her much freedom of movement, but at least she can grab at his waist. He's as skinny as always. With wide shoulders and longish arms he will need to grow into. And that makes her smile through her tears. Rey is gaining a little composure now. "Titus . . . oh, Titus . . . how I missed you."

After a long moment in her boy's embrace, Rey pulls back from him. She starts inspecting her boy in the way only a mother can. "Let me look at you. Are you alright? You look alright. Are you alright?"

"I didn't beat him, Rey. Not yet, at least."

It's Kylo's sarcastic drawl and it instantly brings Rey back from her hyper focus on her son. She has seen nothing in the room yet but her son. Looking around now, Rey realizes that she's standing in a sunny breakfast room where the Sith family has convened to start their day. Vanee and Milo are both standing beaming at her, and it's a rare moment of solidarity among those two. Kylo lounges back in his chair with long limbs sprawled out like he always does. As Rey's eyes find him, Emperor Ren leans forward to conspicuously drape a possessive arm around the gorgeous looking early twenty-something brunette who sits at his side. He does it with nonchalance but the girl looks shocked by the gesture. Rey isn't sure what to make of it. Or what to make of her. Because while this woman is expensively dressed, at first glance it's more for a cocktail party than breakfast. That's a lot of cleavage to be flashing before anyone has had their caf.

Ignoring Kylo and his lady friend, Rey now smiles through her tears at the man she used to breakfast with every morning at Snoke's bunker. "Hi Milo. It's been a long time."

Elegant Milo bows low. "Princess, it is good to see you alive and well. The Force must be with you. Darth Plagueis would be especially happy to welcome you home."

"She's in a cell downstairs," Vanee grumbles under his breath at Milo's grand welcome. "You could have seen her anytime these last six weeks."

"I do not flout the Master's orders," Milo responds coolly and Kylo apparently pretends not to hear.

Rey turns back to Titus. She won't waste a precious second that she has with her son. "Did you grow?" Is Titus taller or is he just standing up straight? She looks him over again and decides, "Yes, I think you grew." Her boy shrugs and looks sheepish but Rey knows he's glad she noticed.

Giving her son one last once-over, Rey decides she doesn't like him in the all black tunic and pants he wears. It's way too First Order Sith for her liking. But Titus fits right in with his father, Vanee and Milo all dressed in their habitual, dramatic black. As usual, the Sith family looks like they are heading to a funeral. Young Titus is very spit and polish looking now. And that's at odds with his longish unkept hair. Altogether, her son's appearance is slightly unsettling. Because one glance over at Kylo's impressive mane and black surcoat makes Rey wonder if Titus is on his way to becoming the Emperor's mini-me.

"Son, you need a haircut," she decides, sounding very mom-like.

Kylo snorts at the comment. "Not as badly as you need a hair dye, Rey. I hate that blonde hair. Vanee do something about that hair. I can't look at that hair."

Kylo surveys her critically and frowns. And Rey refuses to feel self-conscious standing in chains with damp hair and a damp face even though his high maintenance-looking gal pal is openly staring at her. Whoever that woman is, she has merited the full princess treatment, Rey sees. Only Rey is pretty certain Milo wasn't the one to pick out her clothes. Titus' twelve-year-old eyes keep wandering to that woman's busom. And who can blame him? It's an eyeful.

"Yeah . . . you don't look like yourself, Mom," Titus artlessly now says. "You look different."

"You should have seen her when I met her." It's Kylo again. Being obnoxious. It dawns on Rey that maybe she has been summoned to breakfast to be Kylo's figure of fun. The Kylo she used to know would have been juvenile enough to do just that.

But Titus is right, she knows. Skinny in her prisoner garb with dark roots, no makeup, and peeled and bitten fingernails, Rey looks nothing like her usual well-groomed self. Not that she cares. Her attention to appearance has for years been part of her disguise to fit in, and not a particular source of pride for Rey. And anyway, there's no mirror in her cell. Likely because of concerns that she might break the glass and then use it to cut herself.

Milo's expression tells her that she does look rather bad. The old Sith servant flashes a kindly, sympathetic smile. "Darth Plagueis would be on you to fatten up, Princess," he says gently. "He'd be tossing you a muffin right about now." Old Milo turns to his Master now and raises his eyebrows expectantly.

That's apparently Kylo's cue to invite her to take a seat. Rey is still standing off to the side near the door with Titus. Emperor Ren now waves her breezily to the table. "Well, sit down, Rey. Eat something. You look like you need to eat something."

Wary Rey sinks into the empty chair beside her son at the table. "Hello," she bestows her best cheery smile on Kylo's glamour girl seated directly across from her. "I'm Rey."

Her words prod Kylo into making an introduction. It doesn't go well. "This is Cara. She's my . . . My . . . " Kylo can't seem to decide what to say.

And normally, Rey would enjoy seeing Kylo flummoxed except the poor girl at his side is turning beet red and looking humiliated. So Rey cuts him off. "It's very nice to meet you, Cara." Rey smiles again. Is this pretty young thing Kylo's version of Snoke's slave girls? She hopes not. Because to Rey's eyes, Cara looks barely older than Malia at eighteen.

Milo jumps in now to smooth things over. "Princess, Lady Cara is the daughter of General Veers. She is a student at Coruscant University."

"She's very well educated," Kylo informs Rey.

"How fortunate," she responds politely.

"Cara is from a fine old Imperial family," Kylo continues. "There have been several General Veers through the years."

Rey just smiles. "My lady, you must be very proud of your heritage."

The Sith now looks approvingly at the silent girl. He persists in speaking of Lady Cara like she's some sort of pet. "Isn't she beautiful? Lady Cara is much admired for her beauty."

"Oh, yes," Rey agrees. "I can see why. What a lovely companion you must be, Lady Cara." Because, really, what else do you say to this catalog of feminine virtues? Rey is starting to feel sorry for this girl who Kylo is speaking about like she isn't sitting right next to him. But, apparently, the girl can't speak for herself. Or maybe Kylo won't let her.

"Companion." Kylo considers this title a moment before endorsing it. "Yes, companion." And now, Rey is certain that this girl with a glossy mane of dark hair thrown over one shoulder and a blinding amount of lip gloss must be a Snoke girl. Because Kylo can't even give her the title girlfriend. Whatever Cara's role is in Kylo's life, Rey decides it is mostly decorative.

Titus speaks up now. Thankfully, he changes the topic. "Is Mom really a Princess?"

"Yes," Milo and Kylo answer in unison.

While Rey herself chimes in with "No."

"Well, which is it?" Titus asks, looking to her for an answer.

"Oh, she's a princess alright," Kylo drawls. "I had a princess for a mother. I know one when I see them. Look at that attitude. Haughty even in chains. It's pure princess." The Sith smirks at Rey. "You're probably the first ever princess from Jakku."

"I sort of liked your mother," Rey responds softly, thinking of General Leia Organa, the erstwhile princess of Alderaan. "She was scary to me back when I knew her, but I think I understand your mother better now." Rey turns to Titus. "Your grandmother was a remarkable woman, even if she was on the losing side of the war. She is worth learning about, Titus."

"Oh, Princess, I agree," Milo endorses her view. "And my old Master Darth Plagueis would agree. Leia Organa was a great favorite of his, even though he only knew her from afar. Though," Milo reconsiders, "Anakin was his clear favorite in the family."

"I thought I was his favorite," Kylo objects, looking up from his datapad.

Milo nods diplomatically. "Master, you were definitely in the top three."

"I don't need to rank above my grandfather," Kylo decides. "Just above my mother. My mother was a bitch." He shoots a look over at Rey now. "It was a good thing your boyfriend Hux killed her. It saved me the trouble."

"Hux?" Titus asks. Her boy looks to her. "Hux as in Armitage Hux? Mom—you and General Hux?"

"Oh, yes," Kylo answers for her. He wears a leering smile. "Back in the day, your mother seduced Army Hux."

Rey objects. "I did not!"

Kylo scoffs, "Did too! Kid, your mother was something of the femme fatale of the First Order. No man in uniform was safe from her."

Titus first looks shocked and then grossed out, like any kid does when contemplating their parent's love life.

"I never understood what you saw in Hux."

"Army was a good man!"

"Until he turned traitor for the love of you. Hux was annoying as Hell. Besides, you two would never have worked. Army Hux was way too uptight for your crazy shit, Rey."

Rey hasn't thought of Army Hux in a long, long time. He has been buried for years with the rest of her First Order past that she had tried to leave behind. Rey thinks back now to the handsome general who had loved her and died badly. At least he is publicly remembered for his better moments, she thinks. And that's due to Kylo. After all these years, he kept his word. "You're still naming buildings after Army," Rey tells him quietly. "Thank you for that."

"It's not for you, Princess," Kylo shoots back. "It's for his father, who's still hanging around."

"The Commandant is the Dean Emeritus of the First Order military academy here on Corusant," Milo explains for her. "Brendol Hux has slowed down some, but he is still very much involved."

"That sounds like him," Rey decides, remembering the overbearing, uptight elder Hux. Rey looks over to see Lady Cara silently watching this exchange. She appears half shocked and half fascinated by it all.

"Aren't you going to eat, my dear?" Milo asks Rey now. Every time the old Sith retainer looks at her, Rey sees concern in his features. She must look very skinny these days. But the unfortunate fact is that Rey can't eat. Because raising her wrists from her lap requires also raising her legs to an extent that is not possible beneath the table. Rey makes another attempt with her loud, jangling chains. Embarrassed, she gives up. Hungry as she is sitting before the table heaped with delicious smelling food, she's not about to grovel to get it. Rey is content to sit as an observer while everyone else eats. But troubled Vanee and Milo alternate sending her pitying glances.

"Perhaps we can remove some of those restraints—" Milo suggests tentatively with a hopeful eye on his Master.

But Kylo shoots him down. "No," he decrees. "The princess is far too dangerous for that. And besides, she'll survive. She always does. That's the problem," he grumbles. Kylo gives Rey a sneery grin now. "You know, you're in good company, Rey. My mother who you so admire once got herself chained to a Hutt."

"Whereas, I am chained to you." Rey gives him a withering look. "I would much prefer a Hutt."

Milo chuckles at this. "I've known a few Hutts in my day and the Master is considerably less droolly," he points out in his quiet sardonic way.

Titus laughs out loud. His father makes a face. Lady Cara blanches and looks down.

"I'll still take the Hutt," Rey declares.

Kylo sighs theatrically now. "Where is a pet rancor when you need one?"

"I'm afraid it's only Yoda the Cat around here, Master." Milo smothers another chuckle.

Rey perks up at this. "You still have the cat? Where is he? I want to see him. I liked that cat."

"Kitty is banned from breakfast," Milo tells her. "Regrettably, Master Yoda makes Lady Cara sneeze," he explains.

The lady in question nods blankly at her name. Poor Lady Cara looks lost in this whole conversation.

"How old is that cat now?" Rey wants to know.

Milo thinks a moment. "Almost fourteen, if memory serves."

"That's old in cat years, right?" Titus asks. "Like almost a hundred."

"A hundred is nothing," Milo retorts and he and ancient Vanee exchange smiles at the shared joke.

"Kylo got the cat for Milo at the end of the war," Rey tells her son. "I remember that cat as a kitten running about Vader's castle tearing up the furniture."

"Darth Vader had a castle?" Titus wants to know more.

"Indeed," Vanee brightens at the mention of his old Master and his old home. "On Mustafar. Did you not know?"

"Vanee headed Lord Vader's household for years, Titus. You should ask him about it some time," Rey suggests. "It's a rather dramatic place with all the lava."

"Lava? Really? Can we go there?" Titus looks to his father. Rey sees that Kylo has firmly established his role as authority figure.

"Vanee will take you," Kylo allows, making a face. "I haven't been there in years. I hate that place. It's where your mother cut my hand off."

"Cut your? W-Whoa-" Titus blinks.

So does Lady Cara.

"Whoa—" Titus repeats himself as he turns wide eyes on her. Instantly, Rey is defensive. This is not a topic she wants to discuss with her son. Especially not in front of all these people. "Mom, did you really do that?"

Before she can answer, Kylo yanks off his right glove to display his shiny metal prosthetic. Rey has noticed that Kylo always wears both gloves now, and she realizes it is to hide the evidence of the injury. The Sith waves his fingers and the skeletal apparatus whirs as it activates. Rey can't help it, she cringes and looks away.

"I thought that was a war injury," Lady Cara whispers aloud.

"It was a Rey injury," Kylo gripes.

"It's kind of Vader, I guess," her son thinks aloud as he stares. "And that's kind of cool. Very Sith."

"Very Skywalker," Kylo corrects. He looks pointedly at Titus. "Give yourself some time, kid. You'll lose one too."

Titus shudders at this remark. He looks to Rey now fearfully. "What's that supposed to mean? What is he talking about, Mom?"

"It was an accident," Rey says quietly to Kylo. "You know that. You've been in my head." She looks away and whispers, "I'm sorry . . . "

"What was that, Princess? I can't hear you," Kylo complains loudly. He's still waving that ugly biomechanical hand around ghoulishly for all to see. But no one is looking, because they are all looking at her. Vanee and Milo look concerned. Titus looks impressed. Lady Cara looks afraid. She's shrinking back in her chair like she expects Rey to attack her at any moment.

"Look, I'm sorry!" Rey snaps back as she shoots to her feet. Her chains rattle with the effort. "It wasn't my best moment." She intentionally jangles her restraints now. "Can we call it even? That was a long time ago. And you've got me in a cell now."

"Where you belong," Kylo purrs with satisfaction. "All those long quiet hours to contemplate the many errors of your ways."

Rey ignores him and turns to her son at her side. "Titus, it was an accident. And I learned my lesson. Violence is never the best solution. You should talk out your problems and negotiate a solution like a reasonable person-"

"Your mother prefers aggressive negotiations," Kylo interrupts.

"What are those?" Titus asks.

"Negotiations with a lightsaber," his father answers.

"Kylo!" Rey complains through gritted teeth. "I am trying to parent here."

"That's sort of badass, Mom." Titus is looking up at her. He's impressed. "Negotiations with a lightsaber . . . Yeah, that's badass."

Kylo snorts. "That's one way to describe it."

"Your grandmother was the badass woman in the family, Titus. And I don't think she ever used a lightsaber. You should read up on Leia Organa," Rey suggests again. "Learn both sides of the story of the war—"

"Are we back to her again?" Kylo is annoyed. "Because my mother was plenty familiar with violence even if she never picked up a sword. Leia Organa took out two Death Stars and the Starkiller, remember? And, what's with all this sudden love for my mother, Rey? You never used to like my mother."

That's true, but that was before Rey had become a parent herself. After years spent raising a difficult Force-strong son, Rey has a new appreciation for the struggle Leia Organa had with Kylo. "I just view her differently now, I guess."

"Enough about her." Kylo moves on. "Oh, sit down, Rey," he commands. "You look so righteous standing there now, you remind me of her."

Rey complies. And now Titus looks from her to Kylo. "Wow, you guys are really intense. You and Dad never argued like this. Ever."

"Of course not," Rey says sadly. "Cade and I were great together," she remembers softly. "We had a loving, happy family. There was never any drama."

"If you don't count the lies," Kylo drawls.

Rey glares. "We had the perfect marriage."

Kylo moves to pull poor Lady Cara closer. He won't be outdone. "And I have the perfect woman."

"Yes. I see," Rey sniffs. "She hasn't once opened her mouth."

"Hey!" Lady Cara does indeed open her mouth. It's to object.

Rey is instantly contrite. "Sorry," she mumbles, red-faced and ashamed. "That was mean and catty. None of this is your fault . . . He gets under my skin . . . "

Kylo looks a bit triumphant at that remark. Is she being played? Kylo keeps trying to get a rise out of her and she keeps taking the bait. Belatedly, Rey realizes that she is squandering her time with her boy. Taking a deep breath, she resolves to ignore Kylo and to focus on her boy. "Titus, how is school? Tell me about school. Are you making friends? What are you learning?"

"It's the same old stuff."

"Education is important," Rey tells him. She believes this to her core. "Did you do your homework?"

"Oh, fuck, I forgot. I have a book report due today."

"Language!" Rey corrects her son. "Educated people do not express themselves in profanity."

Kylo snorts. "You never used to be so prim, Rey."

"It's called parenting."

"Sounds like nagging to me. Does she always nag like this?"

"Pretty much," Titus admits. But he doesn't look unhappy about it. In fact, he looks downright joyful to be nagged by his mother again. He's grinning sheepishly at Rey. "Sorry, Mom."

"Well, I don't recall Darth Plagueis ever using crude language," Rey says stiffly, knowing full well that old Snoke is the gold standard Sith where Kylo is concerned. "He was an elegant man who never swore."

"I sure recall you swearing," Kylo points out.

Rey ignores this. "Titus, Snoke had impeccable manners. And no one doubted his Sith cred. He was a very sophisticated man."

"I hate to break it to you, Rey, but Snoke had impeccable manners around women only," Kylo informs her. "In the company of men, he was-shall we say-more colorful and descriptive."

"Milo?" Rey raises a questioning eyebrow to Snoke's longtime faithful servant.

"The Master is correct," he confirms gravely.

"Oh." And, it would be just like old Snoke to be gallantly paternalistic of women, Rey recalls.

Titus is trying to find the lesson in all of this. "So . . . does that mean I can swear, just not in front of ladies?"

"Fuck yeah, kid," his father encourages. "And don't let this act fool you, your mother can swear like a spacer when she wants to."

"Then may I remind you that there are two ladies present?" Rey's voice drips with contempt.

"Really?" Kylo's face is the picture of innocence. He smiles indulgently over at the stone faced, stiff-looking Lady Cara. "Because I only see one lady persent. You're a felon now, remember Princess?"

"To be a felon, I would have to have a trial first," she points out. "Can I have a trial?"

"What do you need a trial for? You made a confession just now."

Rey scowls at him. Long and hard.

And Kylo scowls back.

"It's like old times," Milo muses happily at this bizarre tit-for-tat. "Princess, we have missed you," he says with sincerity.

"What do you mean?" Kylo objects. "Rey and I never used to argue."

Milo respectfully disagrees. "That's not how I remember it, Master."

"That's how I remember it," Kylo retorts. He meets Rey's gaze and holds it. "I remember everything about those days."

"Can we do this again tomorrow?" Titus pipes up. "Because this is fun."

"No."

The boy looks crestfallen at his father's immediate firm response. The silence that follows is awkward. Like pretty much this entire breakfast, Rey thinks.

"It's time you left for school," Vanee tells Titus gently. "The speeder will be waiting on the landing platform for you."

"Do I have to go? I want to stay with Mom."

Kylo is getting impatient now. "Don't whine. Sith do not whine. And, yes, you have to go. Your mother is going back to her cell soon anyway," Kylo announces.

"Does she have to?"

"What part of 'Sith don't whine' did you not understand, kid?"

"I'll be alright," Rey soothes. "Now go on, Titus." She smiles over at her son. "School is important. Be grateful that you get to go. It's a chance I never had."

"But what am I going to do about the book report?" Titus sighs.

"Work on it tonight and turn it in late," Rey suggests. "It will be okay."

"Yes, do your homework tonight, kid," Kylo gripes. "Don't stay up late plotting treason in the Force with your mother."

"T-Treason?" Lady Cara finally speaks up now. She's been such a silent observer, that Rey has almost forgotten she is present. "Excellency?" The young woman looks to Kylo, her expression aghast.

"Yes, treason," Kylo confirms coldly. "Don't make me bust out the blue lightning," he warns Titus sternly. "Because we Sith aren't the type to just ground you for a week. You'll be in a bacta tank the next time you try that again."

"Lightning?" Rey is on her feet now. "Don't you dare, Kylo!" she hisses. "Don't you dare use Force lightning on our son!"

"Too late, Mom."

"What?" Rey is dismayed. She whirls on Kylo and demands an explanation, "D-Did you?"

"Don't worry, I can handle it." Titus says this with a grown man's self-assurance that is at odds with his boyish self. Her son is so young in many ways, but growing up fast in others. Maybe too fast now, Rey realizes.

"Sith need discipline." Kylo is unrepentant. "It's good for the kid."

"The Hell it is!" Rey is horrified. And she's hollering now. "This is why I hate this family! This is why I wanted you away from him! Your father is a horrible influence," she warns her son.

"Whereas your life of lies makes you a paragon of virtue," Kylo sneers back.

And suddenly Rey is very, very angry. For it is an instinct born into every mother to protect their child from harm. Rey might be standing in chains but she is far from helpless. And when Rey feels threatened, the Force is with her. All she can manage is a flick of her wrist, but that plus the Force sends Kylo out of his chair and hard against the wall. Caught off guard, Kylo's hands are at his throat as he starts to gasp for a long moment before he breaks her hold. Shrugging it off like the Sith Master he is.

"Was that the Vader choke?" Titus gapes in awe. "Damn, Mom . . . "

"What was . . . that fine speech you made . . . earlier about violence?" Kylo pants between his words as he regains his breath. "You're such a hypocrite, Rey. . . in this, as in everything else."

His point hits home. "I'm s-sorry," chastised Rey stammers out. She hadn't quite planned on that chokehold. But it had come out anyway from somewhere deep within in the stress of the moment. Because no one hurts her boy and gets away with it. Rey loudly informs Kylo of that now. "I won't let you hurt him! You don't get to hurt him!" she vows. "He's all I have l-left . . . " And, now Rey feels like she might cry again. For Cade, for Sasha, and for Malia. All lost to her forever.

"That was the Vader choke, wasn't it, Master?"

"Yes," Kylo confirms. He's mostly back to his normal self now. "Did you feel that rush of power, Titus? Now, there's the Sith princess I remember." Kylo is staring at Rey now in a way that makes her suddenly uncomfortable. His chest is still heaving and is it from her chokehold or from excitement? Rey can't tell. But Kylo's eyes are glittering now as they drill into hers. She can't look away. "Your mother has so much untapped raw power. I've always loved her power. Titus, foremost a Sith craves power."

"Y-Yeah . . . " Titus looks warily back and forth between his parents now. "This is sorta weird."

"Go to school," Kylo commands, still staring at her. "You can see your mother tomorrow, Titus. She's coming back to breakfast again tomorrow."

"She is?" Her son's face splits into a wide grin that is strongly reminiscent of his father.

"I said go to school."

"Yes, Master." Titus stands now to envelope her in another giant hug. "I love you, Mom," he whispers softly as he furtively stuffs a pilfered piece of fruit into her cuffed hands. "See you tomorrow."

The door shuts behind Titus and Rey is still standing there under Kylo's uncomfortable gaze. "Oh, Rey, I have missed you," Kylo breathes out. His tone makes her shiver.

She's had enough. "You're so fucked up, Kylo!" Rey spits out. "And if you fuck our son up, I will choke you for real."

He just grins. "I look forward to it. Now, I have a galaxy to run. Someone put the Princess back in her cell." Kylo grabs his discarded glove from the table and stands to his feet. He looks at the glove for a long moment of indecision before announcing, "Rey, I forgive you for cutting my hand off. It was indeed an accident. A reckless, stupid accident."

"Yeah?" Rey raises an eyebrow at this munificence. "Too bad it was just a hand. If I knew then what I know now, I would have cut off your d-"

"Princess!" It's Milo's most stern tone. The ever-dignified personal representative of Emperor Ren shoots to his feet. "Do not forget to whom you speak."

"Er . . .head," Rey finishes.

Vanee makes a quick dive under the table ostensibly to retrieve his napkin. But he's got a very suspicious coughing fit going on down there.

Kylo makes to leave, leaving meek Lady Cara ignored completely in his wake. And this is typical of the Kylo she remembers. A man who is obsessively concerned with those he cares for and indifferent, sometimes casually cruel, to all others. Rey is seeing the flip side of that concern now. For she now knows that Kylo Ren punishes as fervently as he once loved.

Kylo pauses now before Rey. Reaching his uncovered skeletal metal hand to brush at her recoiling cheek. "Tell me again what you would cut off," he murmurs for only her to hear. "Rey, I used to love it when you talked dirty to me."

"Go away," Rey complains.

"As you wish." He drops his hand and continues his exit, calling over his shoulder, "Until tomorrow, Princess."

* * *

"Princess, wait. Please."

It's Lady Cara calling her name softly as she approaches fast. Rey doesn't go anywhere fast in her shackles, so it doesn't take much for Kylo's glamour girl to catch up to her retinue. Rey and her parade of jailers are about halfway back to her cell.

Seeing Lady Cara walking now gives Rey the full effect of the outfit she is wearing. It's an uncomfortably tight-looking blue gown with a deep keyhole neckline and long sleeves. The dress has a side slit that is probably necessary for movement but has the added benefit of flashing a considerable amount of thigh. The slinky dress, the heavy makeup, the artfully arranged side swept tumble of curls-it's a lot for first thing in the morning. And it just smacks of trying too hard. Of a young girl who is striving to project a flawless sophistication that is at odds with the freshness of her youth. It's all a bit incongruous but determined all the same. And seeing this sex bomb ensemble in context of Lady Cara's shrinking violet personality at breakfast, Rey thinks this girl is doing her very best to project a persona she hopes will please.

The guards surrounding Rey don't seem to know what to do in the absence of Vanee to direct them, so when Rey stops everyone around her does too.

"Yes?" Rey asks expectantly.

And now Kylo's girl looks like she regrets her impulse to waylay them. But nonetheless, Lady Cara steps closer to Rey. Instantly, a guard shoos her back. Lady, say what you need to say, he tells her. But keep your distance because this woman is dangerous. And now Lady Cara definitely looks like she regrets this maneuver. But gamely, the girl takes a deep breath and starts talking.

"You're her. You're not just Rey, you're the Rey."

"I beg your pardon?" Rey isn't following.

"I've heard your name before today. I didn't know that you were a Princess. Or the boy's mother. Or a prisoner. But I knew you were important. All I knew before today was that—"

"Yes?" Rey prompts when the girl falters.

"You're the one who broke his heart."

Rey instantly looks away. She feels her face flush. "Look, he tried to kill me—"

"Oh, you got your revenge," Lady Cara interrupts with a knowing nod.

Rey is defensive. She doesn't have to explain herself to this woman. But she does. "The hand was an accident. Even he agreed."

"He says your name at night in sleep. It wakes him up sometimes. I've heard it too when he's in those trances he does." The girl looks sheepish now. "Maybe you already know this if you talk to him using the magic."

Rey doesn't know what to make of this conversation other than that this poor girl clearly feels very threatened. Well, she shouldn't. "Cara," Rey tells her flat out. "You can have him. I don't want him."

"I'm not articulating this well," the young woman hesitates. She tries again. "The point is that I don't have him, Princess. And I never will. I'm just the latest in a string of girls that old Milo guy procures for him. I'll be gone in a few months with credits and a non-disclosure agreement. You'll still be here."

"In a cell," Rey reminds her, rattling her shackles for emphasis. "Like I said, you can have him."

"You still don't understand. Princess, you're the only one who will ever have him. And I don't get it. I mean, look at you—" Lady Cara gestures to Rey in her prison garb. The girl isn't trying to be insulting, but she doesn't mince words. "You're old."

"I'm thirty-four."

"And you're so plain and that hair-"

"You don't get a hair and makeup droid in prison."

"And you are so rude to him-"

"I have never been demure."

Lady Cara looks like she could keep cataloging Rey's many shortcomings as a romantic rival, but she stops now and gets right to the point. "Despite it all, he's still so hung up on you. It was clear today at breakfast. I know you are a princess and the mother to his son and all, but what do you have that I don't have?" Truly, the girl looks bewildered. "What does he see in you?"

That's easy, Rey thinks. "The Force."

"Oh."

Rey sighs at the girl's obvious disappointment. "The Sith are mad for power and Kylo is a fool for the Force," she explains.

Poor Lady Cara seems to shrink in her heels as she responds, "I don't have the Force. I can't compete with that."

Rey nods. "Consider yourself lucky."

But this beautiful girl doesn't look like she feels lucky. Rey's expression softens now as she looks into Lady Cara's perfectly made up face. As far as Rey can tell, this girl has no dark shadows, no visible lines, not even visible pores. She is airbrushed, camera-ready perfection. It's the face of a girl who is not yet a real woman. Of a girl who has not yet begun to live. Because nothing of her life experience shows yet. Not being up all night with a baby. Not being stressed out from a terrible boss. Not crying herself to sleep over a bad breakup for nights in a row. Not worries about credits, about family, about life. Her face is blank of struggle, devoid of pain, and free of disappointment. Beautiful, but bland.

"How old are you?" Rey asks.

"I'll be twenty-one next month."

Gods, she's only twenty, Rey thinks. Two years older than Malia is now. "He's forty-five. He could be your father."

The girl shrugs at Rey's dismay. "I'm pretty typical, I think. You have to be twenty-five or younger, apparently."

"So you are here voluntarily? You signed up for this?" Rey hadn't realized this.

"Why, yes." The girl stiffens and straightens. "It's a great honor to be considered."

"Considered for what?"

"For marriage to the Emperor."

"M-Marriage?" Rey was not anticipating this answer. So Cara and her brethren are more than just Snoke girls. Kylo is auditioning brides.

"Yes. Milo told my parents that he is looking for a wife. This is a great honor, Princess. My parents were very pleased. They thought it was a great opportunity for me and it might help my dad's career. But that was all before your boy showed up. Now that he's found his son, he won't need an Empress after all."

Rey isn't following. "Why is that?"

"I think he mostly wanted a wife in order to have a child. There were lots of medical questions and tests relating to childbearing." Rey's eyes widen at this news and now the girl starts to hedge. "Well, I'm not really sure because he barely even talks to me. Milo said to expect that. He's very . . . distant." Rey nods because she could easily see this being the case. Rey has seen how cold Kylo has become in maturity. And apparently, it's not just to her. It's to everyone.

Rey has heard enough. "This is disgusting!" she decides. "Look, Cara, you can have him. But if I were you, I would run as far away from him as possible. You're a very pretty girl. A smart one too, I'll bet. You could do a lot better than that Sith."

"But he is the E-Emperor—"

"Yes, well, you could do a lot better than him. Trust me, I know. I'm Kylo's wife."

"His w-wife? Oh, Gods, I didn't know." Poor Lady Cara raises a shocked hand to her lips and flushes bright red. "Oh, Gods . . . I'm so sorry," she stammers out. "I didn't know . . . they never told me he already had a wife."

Of course, not, Rey thinks. Because this whole wife business is a legal fiction that has only recently been concocted. But Rey sticks to the script to be safe. "Kylo and I have been married—oh, fifteen years now, I think. Since back on the Starkiller. Cara, you should ask him to tell you the story. If he can keep it straight," she adds.

"But he keeps you prisoner."

"Yes, I'm locked in the basement in solitary confinement." Rey shrugs with feigned indifference. "It's until he kills me, I guess. I've asked him for a divorce, but his lawyers have counseled against it. So I guess he will have to kill me if he wants to marry again legally."

"Oh, my Gods!" Lady Cara looks revolted and that alone tells Rey that Kylo has been very distant. Because anyone who truly knows Kylo knows of his violent streak. Poor clueless Lady Cara is so innocent of the world of the Sith, Rey sees. No wonder today's awful breakfast was an eyeopener to spur her to action.

Rey looks her would-be rival in the eye. "Cara, run as far away from him as possible. That man destroys everything he touches."

"But I can't leave." Her reply is a hushed whisper. "I am here at his convenience until he dismisses me."

"Gods, that is so disgusting." And so Snoke, Rey thinks.

"What do I do? Oh, Gods, what do I do?"

"I guess you make yourself annoying and unattractive for a few days until he moves on to the next one."

"Yeah . . . I guess so." Lady Cara looks rueful now. "I should have realized who you were. You're the kid's mother, after all. And you don't talk to him like anyone else does. You talk to him like an equal. Like an Empress."

"I live in a cell," Rey tells her dryly. "I am hardly Kylo's equal."

"See—there! That! You even call him by his first name. No one else does that other than his friend the Chancellor. He even makes his own kid call him Master." Yes, Rey has noticed this.

Seeing Lady Cara's confusion now brings out the mother in Rey. She can't help but think of Cade's girls now. "Do you let other guys treat you like this?" she wants to know.

"No. Of course not!" Cara leans in now to hiss, "But he's the Emperor." As if that explains everything. Clearly this poor girl is much intimidated. Probably from a combination of warnings from her parents, instructions from Milo, and Kylo's asshole tendencies. Add in the formal setting of the Imperial palace, and it's a lot of pressure.

Rey decides to impart some advice. "Cara, I have a stepdaughter who's only a little younger than you, so I will tell you now what I have told her. Don't let any guy treat you badly. Ever. Whether he's an average guy or the Emperor. And another thing- it's not your job to please a man all of the time. To sit still, speak nicely and look pretty. You're not a doll. You're a woman. Find some guy who appreciates more than just what you look like. Relationships are more than status, appearance, and sex."

The girl blinks at this very frank talk. Then she blushes. "I know that. It's just that he's the Emperor."

And Rey can appreciate what an awful position this poor girl is in now. "Look, I was younger than you when I first met him. Kylo was first guy I was ever with. For a lot of reasons I won't go into, I didn't know any better than him. But all the signs were there from the beginning. The violence, the possessiveness, the control. I was too blinded by the good parts of Kylo to see the bad ones. He's the monster now that I always feared he would become. It's why I left him. It's why you should be glad when it's your turn to leave."

The stormtroopers surrounding her have been getting antsy and now the Imperial guard with the Force pike to her back, speaks up. "Come on, Princess, wrap it up. Let's go. You're going to get us all written up."

"Yes, sorry." Rey agrees. Then she turns back to the stricken looking girl at her side. "Good luck, Cara."


	13. Chapter 13

When Kylo arrives at breakfast, he's the last one there. Well, except for Cara who has decided not to come. She had murmured something about a new diet but then she had asked if the scary prisoner woman was really coming back. When Kylo had said yes, Lady Cara had visibly paled. Seeing her unease, Kylo had excused her and that's just as well. This new mama bear version of Rey will probably start parenting Cara if she gets the chance. And that could get really awkward.

As Kylo strides in the room, Rey and Titus stand together looking out the window. Titus is holding Rey's hand like he's five and not twelve. Who knew his kid would turn out to be such a mama's boy? They both have their backs turned and the first thing Kylo notices is the hair. He bursts out laughing. Rey's hair is back to being all one color and thankfully it's brown. But it's twisted back into the trio of buns he recalls from Jakku. That was cheeky of her, he thinks, and he loves it. It's like old times.

"Well hello, scavenger," he smirks. "Now that's the girl I knew. Rey, all you need is a big stick and some engine oil behind your ears and I will fall at your feet."

She whirls to glare at him and now Kylo gets to appreciate the full look. Rey is as he remembers now. As he has imagined in countless late-night fantasies. With slashing dark brows that once again match her hair and balance her pouty lips. Those lips . . . Resolutely, Kylo tears his eyes away and forces his thoughts from that direction. He is not going to go there again. Once was enough.

"Good morning, Master," Titus greets him formally as Vanee and Milo bow low.

Kylo now looks expectantly at Rey and raises an eyebrow.

She cocks her head and coolly announces, "Good morning, asshole."

From across the room, Milo loudly clears his throat. He doesn't say a word, but the stern disapproval is clear.

"Er . . . Sorry Milo," Rey looks only mildly shamed and, on the whole, quite unrepentant.

"Not sorry me?" Kylo asks innocently as he takes a seat. Now that the Emperor is seated, everyone else follows suit.

"Not sorry you," Rey decides, doubling down on the transgression. Then she rattles her chains dramatically for effect. And that just makes Kylo chuckle. "Kylo, you've always been an ass—"

"Language, Mom." Titus' eyes are smiling and the corners of his mouth tug up.

"Indeed," Milo seconds this reproof only he's not smiling. Vanee, however, is.

Kylo shrugs it off. "I'm disappointed you weren't more creative, Rey." He turns to their son to reveal, "Back in the day, your mother used to be able to swear in Hutt. She could make a spice smuggler blush like a little girl."

"Really?" The boy looks impressed.

"Yes. Milo knows quite a bit of Huttese from all those negotiations through the years." Kylo settles back with his steaming hot cup of caf and turns to his faithful servant. "Milo, can you swear in Hutt?" he inquires.

"Absolutely not, Master."

And the Force tells him that is a lie. Kylo calls old Milo on it. "You know what the words mean, you just choose not to use them."

"Quite right, Master. Quite right."

Titus pipes up again, "The Sith do business with the Hutts?"

"It's where we used to buy our women," Kylo reveals with a look towards Rey. Yes, she's as disapproving as he expects. "My old Master was a sad widower who kept a harem in his latter days. He always kept a bevy of beauties around. Milo would buy him Twi'lek girls from the Hutts."

"A harem? Wow, do I get a—"

"NO! You don't!" Rey interrupts. Then she shoots Kylo a look that would freeze water on hot Jakku.

The boy actually looks disappointed and that makes Kylo laugh some more. "You're not old enough yet, kid. Give yourself a few years."

Rey begs to differ. "Titus, you will never be old enough for that. Ever. And women are not a commodity to be bought and sold."

"Indeed." It's Milo again and, as always, he champions Kylo's cause. "That is why the Master wisely abolished slavery years ago. Darth Plagueis would be especially proud for that, Master." He nods approvingly at Kylo.

"Oh, stop sucking up," Vanee says under his breath a little too loudly. And Kylo lets this slide too.

Rey moves on, ignoring them to ask Titus. "Did you do the book report?"

"Yes. But now I have to do another one because this one is late," the kid grumbles. Really, half of what comes out of his kid's mouth in a whine, Kylo thinks. But he takes an interest. He's new to this parenting thing, but he's determined to make it work.

"What are you reading for the second report?" Kylo asks.

The boy shrugs. "It doesn't matter. It just has to be a book. Any book."

"Excellent. Then I will choose one for you," Kylo decides.

Rey raises an eyebrow. "Let me guess-here come the biographies of the Imperial heroes, right? I remember Snoke's homework assignments from back in the day."

"Titus can read my official biography for his report," Kylo decides.

"A wise choice, my lord." It's Milo again sucking up. "A boy should know of his father's glory."

Rey scoffs at this. "It's a work of fiction. Does that matter for the report, Titus?"

"Oh, so you've read it?" Kylo turns to smirk at Rey. "Couldn't stay away, could you? I knew you'd miss me, Rey"

"Yes, I read it," she confirms, turning to Titus to explain. "It was required reading for your sisters one year. I read it just to spot the lies."

Kylo's smile is tight now. "Well, you are an acknowledged expert in the field," he reminds Rey. Then he points a gloved finger at his son. "Read the book and write your report. Then we will discuss it and I will tell you which parts were somewhat edited for content."

"Okay. I'd like that." Titus is sincere. But his son instantly senses the disapproval from Rey at his side. The kid is defensive. "What, Mom? He's my father and I want to know something about him. I want to know the truth." He looks back and forth between his parents. "It can be hard to tell what is the truth around here."

These are wise words, Kylo thinks. "Yes, be careful with truth," he warns his son. "Truth is a far more malleable concept than most realize. And the truth of the past can shift over time as our values and conflicts evolve. Truth is a point of view, Titus."

"Is that Sith teaching?" the boy asks earnestly.

"No, actually that's Jedi teaching," Kylo answers. "But it's worth learning. In some respects, the Jedi could be just as manipulative as the Sith." And that's something of a compliment coming from Darth Ren.

"How ecumenical of you," Rey observes dryly.

Kylo catches her eyes and chides her, "Balance, dear Rey, balance." It makes him feel very Snoke.

"Balance is a lie," Rey states firmly. "Snoke believed it, but I don't. Dark and Light may coexist but they do not reconcile. Whatever your father is teaching you, Titus, take it with a grain of salt. In over a millennium of Jedi and Sith, no one has ever achieved balance."

"No one but Plagueis ever tried," Kylo reminds her. He decides that it is very Skywalker of them to be arguing about the Force over breakfast. So far from being angry, he's pleased. "Ye of little faith. We shall prove her wrong, my son. And then your name will be writ largest of all on my temple wall. We will be Sith for the ages."

Rey just rolls her eyes.

"Where's Lady Cara?" Titus asks, suddenly realizing her absence.

"She won't be joining us today." Kylo does not bother to elaborate.

Milo and Vanee exchange very obvious glances at this news. Milo now leaps to suggest, "Shall I undertake inquiries for a new companion, Master? Are things winding down?"

Before he can answer, Vanee chimes in. "Such a lovely girl. But so meek. Too meek."

"Rey's exploits yesterday scared her off from breakfast. That's all," Kylo explains. "Force chokes are not very genteel, Rey."

"I'm not genteel," she informs him. "I'm Jakku. And what were you thinking dragging both of us to breakfast?"

"I can't take you anywhere, can I, Rey?" Kylo deadpans.

"Not like this." Rey noisily rattles her chains.

"Oh, dear, that won't do at all." Vanee's face is the picture of concern. "Can't have an easily intimidated Empress, you know. Especially one afraid of the Force. That seems so wrong somehow."

"Indeed," Milo concurs, something of a first ever. "Lady Cara is a lovely girl. But not Sith Empress material."

"I know what you are doing." Kylo is sort of amused by it too. He's fully aware that both Milo and Vanee used to love Rey. And he likes that his Sith family takes up for their own, even when they are in strong disfavor like she is currently. Loyalty is important to a Sith Master, after all.

When no one issues a denial, Kylo now turns a questioning look on Vanee. Then he looks pointedly at Rey who is just now raising a cup of caf to her lips. "I notice that our prisoner is a bit more loosely tethered this morning."

"Er . . . yes, I had noticed as well," the old man agrees easily. And reading the disapproval in Kylo's face, he hastens to add, "I will speak to the detention officer today, Master. We will not tolerate a repeat of this oversight."

"Oversight?" Kylo raises an eyebrow. He is quite certain that those loose tethers were intentional. To allow Rey more freedom of movement to eat.

And the now Vader's old caretaker opens the door to come clean. "Yes, oversight. In a manner of speaking, perhaps . . . "

And Milo jumps in to Vanee's defense. "Truth being a point of view, as you just said, Master."

Kylo gives them both a look.

Vanee's wrinkled face is guilty as Hell. But he's crafty with his explanation, name dropping his grandfather by way of an excuse. "As Lord Vader often said, sometimes it is best to beg forgiveness rather than to ask permission."

"Did my grandfather really say that?" Kylo is skeptical.

"Er . . . no. Lord Vader was a man of action like yourself, Master. Lord Vader had a tendency to lead by example when it came to disobedience."

"Meaning?" Kylo is enjoying watching scheming old Vanee squirm.

"Meaning that what Lord Sidious did not know, did not hurt him," the old man says sheepishly.

"Not so with Lord Ren," Kylo admonishes firmly. "And what I do not know may certainly hurt you, Vanee. I do now wish to have two members of our family at breakfast in chains."

"Yes, my lord."

Kylo is now satisfied that old Vanee is suitably chastised until the old wraith adds, "When the Princess joins us again tomorrow morning, we shall make every effort to ensure that she is incapable of eating. If you wish, we can also make sure her only comfortable position is to stand." The devilish old retainer keeps throwing the ridiculousness of it all in Kylo's face. "In fact, Master, perhaps it would be best if we simply chain the Princess to the wall face first."

Milo speaks up now. "Really, Vanee, the Master would never do such a thing. You insult him. He is Darth Ren the Just and he is never cruel."

And now with that high-minded speech in front on his hopeful looking kid, Kylo is feeling a bit boxed in. He looks over at skinny Rey. Kylo can see the veins in her forearms and her collarbone looks almost sunken. He's willing to bet that under those baggy clothes she is every bit as scrawny as when he first met her. Only back then, she had looked strong and skinny. Now, Rey looks more frail and skinny. And that makes Kylo suddenly feel ashamed. "Oh, fine, Vanee. Keep it the same and let her eat. Rey, you need to eat."

His kid doesn't miss a beat. "Yay, Mom! You're coming back tomorrow!"

And tomorrow? Who said anything about tomorrow? But the kid's face is lit up and so is Rey's and it feels wrong to countermand them now. This isn't about the food, Kylo knows. Rey wants to see her son. And maybe daily breakfast with Rey will be enough interaction to blunt his son's frustrations over his mother's situation. "Fine," Kylo decrees. "The prisoner may dine with us in the mornings. Provided," he stares Rey down, "that she behaves herself."

And maybe, the Sith reasons, a decent meal once a day will put some meat back on Rey's bones. The golden goddess trophy wife who had filled out her pretty white dress is long gone. Just looking at Rey's painful thinness makes Kylo feel guilty. But not as guilty as yesterday's tearful reunion with Titus. That had really made him squirm inside. Hours later Kylo had kept thinking about it, wondering if he had hit a new low in Skywalker family drama.

"And Lady Cara?" Milo prods gently, bringing Kylo out of his reverie. He and Vanee must think they are on a roll, Kylo thinks. Evidently, they don't know to quit while they are ahead.

"What about her?" Kylo growls.

Milo and Vanee just look at him.

"Oh, alright, it's not working out," Kylo now concedes the truth. He might as well.

Vanee and Milo begin nodding their concurrence, but Rey speaks up to disagree. "Nonsense. Cara is perfect for you, Kylo. She will make a perfect wife. Now if you will just divorce me, Vanee can get started planning the wedding."

"D-Divorce?" Titus asks softly. "But Mom, you're married to Dad. Right?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, Rey?" Kylo argues back. He's determined that Rey will not get her way in this since she has managed to finagle a standing invitation to breakfast. "There will be no divorce. Lady Cara will be leaving us." He turns to Milo to again say the magic words, "It's not working out," which is the code phrase for 'get rid of her.'

"As you wish, my lord." Milo intones.

And looking around the room at the happy faces of the co-conspirators Milo and Vanee, and at the perplexingly pleased looking Rey, Kylo realizes that he has been expertly maneuvered. He's just dismissed his auditioning wife and agreed to spend more time with his pretend wife at breakfast every morning. How exactly had that happened? Still, Sith that he is, Kylo appreciates this skill. "Well played, all. Well played," he commends. Then he turns to Rey. "See? I knew you missed me." And that wipes the smug look off her face.

"Wait-are you guys married now?" Titus asks again. It's hard to miss the odd note of hope in his voice. "Like legally married? Like 'we're a family' married?"

"Of course. I married your mother on the Starkiller years before you were born," Kylo lies blatantly.

"Did not!"

"Regrettably, all the records are gone and so is the officiant. General Hux himself married us. Remember, dear?" Kylo grins gleefully.

"That's a lie!" Rey complains. "And you know it!"

"If you are married," Titus looks to Kylo now, "then, yeah, you probably should get rid of your hot girlfriend now. Mom won't like that."

"Mom doesn't care," Rey announces. "Your father can have all the hot girlfriends he wants. It means nothing to me."

Kylo just sighs and decides it's time to get to work. "I have an Empire to run," he announces as he rises to his feet. And truthfully, heading up an Empire is turning out to be much easier than heading up his Sith family these days. Peace truly is a lie. But lately all the conflict in his life seems to be located in his home.

"What was your Master like?" Titus asks later that night when they are at meditation together. More and more, Kylo is seeing how curious his son is about him. He knows it's because he is nothing like Cade Biggs. And because his mother's hidden life before his birth has Titus very intrigued.

"Old Darth Plagueis wasn't much to look at," Kylo answers. "He was a very old Muun. In his youth he had been a handsome man but Sidious rearranged his face. Years later, Skywalker made it a little worse. Snoke was wicked smart. Well . . . he was wicked in general. That Muun thoroughly enjoyed being a Sith." Kylo smiles now as he recollects his beloved teacher, the consummate Dark Sider. "He was always up to something. Snoke played the long game and he prided himself on his elegant schemes that would fulfill multiple goals. Truly, he was a marvelous mastermind, Titus. He plotted the downfall of the Old Republic and later the first Empire he never got the rule. Then he plotted the downfall of the New Republic and the New Empire he never got to rule." Kylo pauses a moment before adding, "I was devastated when he died."

The boy looks engaged, so Kylo keeps talking. "Behind closed doors, old Snoke had a very droll sense of humor. The man could throw shade and zingers as well as he could cast Force lightning. It would have been very entertaining had I not been the usual target. I was an arrogant young Sith and my Master loved to take me down a peg. When he was in a good mood, he liked to fuck with people. That was his way. In public, of course, he was a very formal man. Very reserved in his demeanor with gravitas to spare."

"Wow. He sounds amazing."

"He was. Snoke loved your mother. He called her his daughter during the months when he kept her for his ward."

"His ward?"

"Yes. My Master sequestered your mother once he found out about her. Snoke was very controlling with his Apprentices. While he approved of your mother, he held her back. I had to earn my princess. Like you had to earn a visit with your mother."

The boy looks very intrigued by the tale. "What did you have to do?"

"Kill my uncle."

"Oh."

"All in all, your mother and I had only a few months actually living together," Kylo recalls. "It was on my star destroyer here above Coruscant. Those were the worst days of the war. I thought the Mid Rim campaign had been a slaughter, but it was nothing like Coruscant. Your mother was aghast by it all. I didn't realize how much until it was too late. I was trying so hard to end the war. She wanted me to end the war. But she did not approve of my means."

"Didn't you just kill everyone?"

"Yes. Basically."

"Mom would have hated that," the boy agrees.

"She did," Kylo sighs. "I ended the war, but I lost her in the process. And I lost you, too."

There is a long moment of silence before Titus speaks up with another question. "So who taught you how to use a sword?"

"First my uncle. Then Snoke. My Master was an excellent swordsman when he ever bothered to pick one up. He fancied the sword beneath him by the time I came along. He preferred to fight with the Force. That guy loved lightning. I got a lot of lightning over the years." This bit of the past Kylo is not nostalgic for at all.

"Yeah? For what?"

"Failure. Lack of focus and discipline. Also, to toughen me up. Formal Sith training is not for the faint of heart, kid. It's pretty grueling."

"Yeah? Like how?"

"Like lots of pain."

"Oh."

"You'll get through it when it's your turn," Kylo decides as he reaches to clap at his kid's shoulder. "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger as a Sith. And by the time we are done, it will make a man out of you."

"How old do I have to be?" Titus wants to know. Like all young people, he is in a hurry to grow up.

But Kylo declines to set a timetable. "We shall see. Formal Sith training is not for the faint of heart and it should not be rushed. We Sith take our time. Sidious trained for ten years before Plagueis turned him loose. I trained on and off for almost fifteen years," he recalls. There had been a war going on and so his training had not been as organized and intensive. It was sporadic from time to time when the demands on Snoke's time allowed.

"Do I get a sword? I want a sword." Yes, he's noticed that the kid loves his sword.

It makes Kylo smile. "You remind me of your mother. She begged Snoke for a sword. He refused."

"Why?"

"My Master would never have trained your mother to use a sword. With Skywalker still alive, she was still a potential enemy."

"But you said you trained her."

"I did. My uncle was dead then and I wanted Rey to be able to protect herself. There was a war going on. I worried that your mother's closeness to me would make her a target. I never dreamed that she would turn her sword on me."

"Yeah and she beat you too . . . "

That comment earns Titus a stern look. "I wasn't fighting her. I wasn't even trying. Had I fought your mother with my sword, she would be dead. Your mother had talent but she was half trained at best. Just enough to be dangerous but not enough to win. I spent the whole fight worrying that Rey would hurt herself. In hindsight, I should have been more worried about me."

"I can't believe she cut your hand off," his son says quietly. "That doesn't sound like Mom. But, I guess in a lot of ways, I don't really know Mom."

And that's how it always is for children, Kylo suspects. For children have an ego-centric vantage point on their parents' lives that is limited in duration and scope. They see only the adult finished version of a person, the responsible authority figure who muddles through it all. Not the in-process younger variety who is still becoming that adult. And they don't see all facets of their parents' lives. They see the mommy who nags as she continually picks up after everyone, but not the interesting and enticing woman she also is. They see the tired, cranky dad who wants to nap on weekends but not the engaged and respected man he is around the office. Children tend to ignore the fact that everyone was young and foolish once, including the irate middle-aged mom who just grounded them. And, of course, they forget that everyone—most especially adults-make mistakes and have regrets.

It has taken Kylo being a mature adult to let go of the disappointment of his own parents. To see them objectively for their mix of talents and faults. To recognize that in his busy, driven mother was another version of himself. Leia Organa had wanted to shape the future and to rule the galaxy, just in a very different way than Kylo Ren. And like himself, Leia Organa had excelled at anything she put time and effort into. But unfortunately, that didn't include her family. Kylo has fewer sympathies for Han Solo. But he sees now that his father's adventurous spirit and chronic wanderlust had made him poor husband material. Plus, his shady pirate father had been a most unsuitable political spouse. All his father had really needed was his sidekick wookiee, the Millennium Falcon, and a port to call home with his mother waiting. For while Leia Organa's ambitions didn't leave enough time for a family, Han Solo really had no interest in one. When put together with the needy, whiny kid that young Ben Solo had been, it was a combustible mix. Kylo sees now that he had needed a mother more like Rey. And that he had wished for a father as available and engaged as Cade Biggs. Those are daunting realizations. Because that's the environment Kylo has just plucked young Titus out of. And it is a hard act to follow.

But he is trying. Instant fatherhood poses some difficulties. Kylo considers Snoke to be his father in all ways but one, so he is patterning his interactions with Titus after his relationship to his own Master. Basically, he wants to bond with his son over the Force. Because of all the things Kylo hopes that he and Titus will share one day, this is by far the most important.

He has underestimated how much fun teaching his son will be. Kylo gets to pass on all the Force lore and family history he so loves. And he gets a chance to revisit and reconsider the basic tenets of the Force anew as he shares them. Teaching Titus reinvigorates his thinking about the Light and the Dark. And it renews his curiosity about the possibility of balance. Long ago Kylo had laid aside that aspiration, consigned it to the corner of his mind where memories of Rey lurked, and chalked it up to failure. It's been well over a decade since he last pondered that puzzle, and Kylo is far more powerful in the Force now. And more experienced too in understanding the call to the Light. With the arrival of an unexpected Force-strong son, perhaps the time is right to revisit his Master's ultimate challenge, Kylo thinks. The quest for balance. It is, after all, the reason the Skywalkers exist.

And, really, this is the only challenge left. Sith emperor Kylo Ren long ago won the galaxy. Over ten years into governing, his major reforms are well underway. His vision is in place and is slowly being realized. Kylo knows that he and Nestor are down to the boring part: the implementation phase. And, sure, there is plenty of work to be done and there are many problems yet to be solved. But there is nothing left to do that captures Kylo's attention quite the way understanding the balance of the Force does. He especially loves the idea that it will become a joint project with his son. That this is a legacy to be achieved and passed on.

The only awkward part is that there is no discussion of balance without discussion of Rey.

"Your mother was the Light in my life when we were together," Kylo tells his son one evening as they speak of the Force. "I had always hoped that together your mother and I would balance one another. That she would be the Light that I craved and I would be the Darkness she was drawn to."

"Mom likes Darkness?" His son looks surprised. And skeptical. But that's not surprising, all in all.

"Back then, she liked me. Son, it works both ways. The Light flirts with Darkness just as much as the Dark craves the Light. That's why the Jedi cult was so paranoid about their most powerful knights. The strongest in the Light were usually those tempted by the Dark Side. My uncle felt that temptation, I know. From time to time, he too had to give into it. Like I have to give into the Light now and then."

"Did Luke Skywalker believe in balance?" Titus wants to know.

Kylo shakes his head. "No. He clung to the rigid old ways he had been taught by Yoda and Kenobi. My uncle rejected my Master's theories completely."

"But I thought you said that he practiced them . . . that he gave into the Dark."

"It's a manner of perspective, really," Kylo explains. "My uncle viewed his forays into the Dark Side as failure. As weakness. As dangerous. For the Jedi believed strongly that once you start down the Dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. And so, Luke Skywalker spent his life fearing the Darkness within him even though time after time my Master offered to welcome him home." Kylo makes a face as he remembers again that awful on scene on Crait which had ended with his Master and the Jedi both dead. His uncle's stubborn lack of vision had cost Kylo and the galaxy much that day.

Turning back to his surprise son, Kylo imparts his hard-won wisdom from the long Force war that had ended that fateful day. "Titus, as a boy, my uncle taught me to fear and fight against my Dark nature. It was a form of self-hatred. And it was a recipe for unhappiness. Accept who you are. Own who you are. Self-awareness is the beginning of enlightenment."

His boy thinks a moment. "So when Mom put the Vader choke on you, that was Darkness, right?"

"Yes. She was tempted to Darkness in defense of you. That's the only thing that could tempt your mother to do harm. She is a reluctant fighter. She will fight for herself and she will fight for you. But she would never fight for abstract ideas or lofty goals. Your mother is a survivor," he tells the boy. "She is practical and cautious. Not visionary and bold."

"Like you."

"Yes, like me. Sith are bold. We dare what others do not."

"So when she cut your hand off-"

"That was truly an accident. But the impulse to fight was your mother resorting to Darkness. She was the aggressor, Titus. And that was very unlike her. That's how threatened she was. I understand it all much better in retrospect."

"Are you saying that the Force made her do it?" The boy is trying hard to understand.

"The Force never robs us of free will. It might define our destiny, but it does not dictate how we get there. The Force tempted your mother and the real world conflicts between us were the flashpoint. That is the push-pull of being a Force-user. The Force in the larger scheme controls your actions, even if it will obey your commands."

"You didn't even seem mad when Mom choked you," the boy points out.

"I wasn't," he admits easily. "I was happy to see her use her power. And it was in defense of you," Kylo adds. He will not fault Rey for that, misguided though she was. He loves that Rey so loves their son. Even if it makes him a little jealous. Well, a lot jealous.

"So what did you do for Light when Mom was gone?" Titus wants to know. The question tells Kylo that his boy is truly learning and not just listening. Because he's thinking things through. Kylo is pleased.

"I did what my Master did for years. I built schools and hospitals. I funded good works. From time to time, I pardoned prisoners."

"Like on Empire Day."

"Yes," Kylo confirms. "That tradition began as the war ended. I was mourning your mother, desperate for the Light, and worried that the Force would strike back at me for killing her. So as I stood ready to execute a slew of prisoners on camera, I caved to the Light. I only killed the worst of them and freed the rest." It had been a spur of the moment decision that had shocked even himself at the time. After all the brutal slaughter on Coruscant, no one had been expecting mercy from Kylo Ren.

"That's how you became Darth Ren the Just, right?" his son asks.

Kylo smirks. "That was my PR machine spinning to the media to explain the situation." At the time Kylo himself had been in no shape to explain himself, he recalls. Moved by the Light with tears running down his face behind his mask, the emotive Sith had turned off his sword and stalked away. Leaving his shocked and unprepared spokesman to explain. They had gotten creative.

"I do it every year now. Deciding on the spot who to kill and who to spare. The crowd loves the drama of it all. They even lay odds and take bets on who lives in Canto Bight. It keeps people tuned in on the holonet. Nothing gets our ratings up like an execution," Kylo says cynically. "And all those eyes watching make it an excellent opportunity to speak to the people. It's why Nestor always gives his State of the Galaxy speech first that day."

"Oh, no one listens to the Chancellor's speech," he son tells him what he already knows. "We all wait for you to light your sword." The kid marvels a moment about the hidden meaning behind it all. "And to think, it's all a way to seek the Light."

"Mercy and compassion are the essence of the Light. I get the most immediate gratification from pardons," Kylo explains. "I need that now and then since I no longer have your mother."

"She's here now," the boy points out.

"Her proximity helps, yes. But it's not the same when we are not together. It is the influence of your mother that matters." Kylo is deliberately vague on this topic.

"Oh. Well, maybe if you let her out of her cell—"

"No." Kylo doesn't want to reopen this discussion. "Look kid, this is not how I planned it to be. Your mother and I were supposed to be together and to raise you as a family. I wanted us to be happy and to find balance. It just didn't work out." He got the galaxy but not the girl. But at least he has their son. Kylo studies his troubled kid and continues his awkward apology. "I'm glad your mother lived. And I am glad you are both returned to me now. It's not the ideal situation, I know."

"You pretty much stole me," Titus' tone has a resentful edge.

"Yes," Kylo concedes. "I know you miss your old family and your old life, but this is for the best. This short-term pain will right things in the end. Titus, had we grown up estranged, we would have ended up in conflict for certain. We would be yet another tragic generation. In this, your mother and I are in agreement. I want no more Skywalkers killing Skywalkers."

His boy looks away, frustrated and unhappy. "Mom won't talk to me in the Force. I tried to talk to her again last night but she wouldn't answer me."

Yes, Kylo knows. "She won't answer you again. She's too afraid of what you will say. She's trying to protect you."

"I wanted to ask her more about what happened between you. To hear her side of the story." The boy starts to whine again as he glares at Kylo. "I just want to understand why she's in a cell. I don't like that my mother is in a cell."

"Neither do I," Kylo admits. "But I don't have a better solution right now." He sighs. "I wish I did."

"Why did you try to kill her?" his boy asks tentatively. Almost as if he's afraid to know the answer. "If she was so important to you, then why hurt her?"

"I was angry with her for leaving me." She hurt me, he thinks to himself. She really, really hurt me. And every time he sees Rey now, all that hurt rises to the surface to overwhelm his better self. He might understand what she did and why she did it, but he can't put that understanding into words. Instead, only snark and anger come out his mouth when he sees Rey. Kylo wonders for a moment whether it is the same way for her. Does Rey at all understand why he has done what he has? Has she any regrets or wisdom of her own now that so much time has passed? Or is he still the evil villain in her eyes?

"You're still angry with her."

"Yes. Very much so. But for different things now. Mostly for you. For what almost happened to you." Whatever Rey had intended, Kylo knows there is no way he and Titus would have remained forever anonymous and apart from one another. Because that's not how the Force works where the Chosen Ones are concerned.

"Then why is she alive now?" Titus wonders aloud. "How do you determine who to kill and who to spare?"

"You know the answer to that. Think and then tell me why your mother is alive."

The boy considers and then answers. "It's because she is the Light and you don't want to risk the Force striking back at you."

"Yes. What else?"

The boy thinks some more. "Maybe because she is my mother? You said you want the family dysfunction to end."

"Yes."

"So you're just going to keep her in a cell forever?"

"Maybe." Until he has a better idea.

His kid's expression hardens. "You know, this doesn't really make sense. Because when she's not around, you talk nice about her. But then at breakfast, you are so hateful. Well, she's hateful too, I guess. Do you hate Mom?"

Fuck. It bothers Kylo that his son is even asking these questions. Because this is not how things were supposed to be. "No, I don't hate her," he grumbles. And that's the real problem, Kylo knows. He doesn't hate Rey. He loves Rey. Still, after all these years and after all that has occurred, he loves that disappointing, treacherous woman. Worse still, he knows better. But he can't help himself. He's always been weak for Rey. Kylo sighs and looks away. "I don't hate your mother. I could never hate your mother."

"Yeah. I didn't think so."


	14. Chapter 14

It is a strange existence for Rey as the prisoner princess of the Imperial palace. Each morning, she is marched in chains to breakfast with the household. It's a bit like the old days in Snoke's bunker when the Muun Sith would convene his family for a caucus on the day's events. Only this Sith family is far more dysfunctional. She and Kylo start the day by trading barbs while Vanee looks very intentionally unamused. Milo is his quietly disapproving self. Titus looks on mostly in silence. Rey can't tell if her son is soaking it all in or doing his best to ignore them all.

Once the preliminary insults are exchanged, Milo goes over the Emperor's daily schedule. Then Vanee reports on any household matters of note and Milo updates Kylo on his latest Senate shenanigans. Milo seems to have resumed his old role as go-between for graft, blackmail, and patronage. Rey listens in, marveling at how they keep it all straight. But they do. Every now and then, Nestor Flick drops by to join them for more talk of the Senate. Over time, that legislative body has grown in stature, even if it remains firmly under Kylo's control. Still, there are flashpoints. Kylo develops an annoying habit of referring to it as 'her Senate' when things get thorny. As if somehow Rey is the one to blame.

Titus speaks up to ask why one day. "What does the Senate have to do with Mom?"

Kylo gripes, "Your mother is the reason the galaxy has a Senate. She thought a Senate was a great idea every time she got in one of her peacemaking moods."

That earns Rey an impressed nod from Titus. "Wow, Mom. Who knew you were so democratic? You were always a dictator back home."

Rey ignores this comment and reaches for a muffin.

"That's because Biggs is a wuss," Kylo observes. "Letting his wife decide everything. Overbearing women are tiresome. Never marry one, son. Don't make the same mistake I did."

"We're not married," Rey complains between bites. This is an old argument by now.

"Of course, we're married." Kylo smirks over at Nestor Flick who is attendance today. Kylo's Chancellor and best friend had marched in late to breakfast, reaching over to muss playfully with Titus' hair before he plopped himself into an open chair. Nestor looks up now as he hears Kylo say his name. "Nestor was our best man."

"I was?" Nestor nearly spits out the sip of caf he has taken. But he recovers fast. "I mean, of course I was. Kid, when you're older, we'll tell you all about the bachelor party," he improvises.

"Oh, I'm old enough now." Titus is all ears.

"Not nearly," Kylo shoots him down. "But it was legendary."

"Epic," Nestor agrees.

"Sith don't lie, remember?" Rey interrupts.

"It's not a lie," Kylo maintains. "And I have the paperwork to prove it. We are husband and wife."

Nestor hastens to insert himself now, reverting to the original topic. "Anyhow, kid, back to the Senate. Your mother was something of an architect of the Empire," Nestor explains. "She was the brains behind a lot of our initial reforms. Unacknowledged, of course," he amends.

"Yes, well, once you attempt to kill the Emperor, you tend to lose your accolades," Kylo grouses.

"I never tried to kill you. I just cut your hand off," Rey reminds him. "And you deserved it."

"And here I thought you were sticking to the story that it was an accident. Wife, I'm going to keep you in prison here one year for every year you ran away. And then another ten years for my hand."

"It's worth it," Rey hisses.

"Don't you ever get tired of this?" Titus looks first to her and then to Kylo. "Don't you ever get tired of all this fighting? Because I do."

"I'm tired of it, too," Nestor Flick seconds his opinion. "But fighting is all they have ever done, kid. The first time I met your mother, they were having a rip-roaring fight. I think the next time I saw her, she held your dad at sword point after a scuffle with Hux. Once, they had such an ugly fight that your dad sent your mom to live with my family. Look, this is what they do. They fight. It's their thing."

"Oh. Well, I don't like it," the boy glowers first at his mother and then at his father.

Rey quickly inserts herself to change the topic. "How'd the soccer game go last night?"

"We lost."

"The young master scored two goals," Milo volunteers. Milo has appointed himself as stand-in grandpa and he never misses a game.

"You didn't tell me that," Kylo grumbles.

"You didn't ask," Titus grumbles back.

"Eh. Teenagers," Nestor shrugs. "Boss, you're supposed to read their minds. But wait," the thought occurs to him, "you can actually do that." Nestor turns back to Titus now. "When's the next soccer game?"

"Thursday after school. If we win, we make the playoffs."

"Yeah? Well, in that case, I'm there. You and Milo can come home for dinner with me afterwards. My wife Cesi wants to meet you, Titus. And she's dying to see your mom again. But it looks like that's not happening anytime soon."

"Titus is busy," Kylo shoots this plan down. "After the game, the kid will be learning with me."

"Can't he skip the Force homework for one night?" Nestor wheedles.

"Titus is coming home right after his game," Kylo decrees. "He can waste time with you when his homework and training is done."

"Whatever!" Titus interrupts impatiently. "It doesn't matter. I didn't want to go anyway."

And now, Nestor meets her eyes across the table. He seems guilty and sheepish as usual. And he should, Rey thinks, since she now knows that Nestor was the one to rat her out to Kylo. But try as she might, Rey can't muster much anger at Nestor. Maybe it's because he seems so sympathetic. Every time the Chancellor makes an appearance at breakfast, he ends up arguing with Kylo on Rey and Titus' behalf. Today is no different.

"Come on Kylo, give the kid a break. You're stressing him out. Titus is young. He needs some fun and normalcy. Not just the Force and school."

Kylo brushes off this concern. "He'll adjust. Stay out of it, Nestor."

"Things can't go on forever like this," the former Second Knight points out. "With her in chains at breakfast and you being the kid's controlling overlord. Don't you think this 'no fun' rule is a wee bit overbearing even for a Sith?"

"I said stay out of it, Nestor." Kylo's tone hardens.

"You're being a stubborn asshole," Nestor accuses.

"That's what Mom says," Titus commiserates.

"Yeah?" Nestor looks over at Rey approvingly. "She's right."

"Nestor, enough." Kylo's voice is steel.

The big man backs down. And then today, as usual, everyone reports their schedule. It's the last Friday of the month, so the Emperor's afternoon is full of official audiences that Milo skims over. There's nothing particularly noteworthy, he sniffs. The Senate is in recess today, so Nestor is mostly here to hang out, it seems. Young Titus reports that he has a math test and soccer practice. Vanee reports that he will be attending Titus' school conference today.

That last bit gets Rey's attention. "Is there a problem?" she asks fearfully. Rey has been to enough school conferences to know that the news is not always good where Titus is concerned.

"This is routine, I believe," Vanee reports. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

"I want to go," Rey blurts out. "I'm his mother so I should be the one to go. Not Vanee." Not once in all his years of schooling has Rey missed a parent-teacher conference.

"You are a prisoner," Kylo bluntly states the obvious. "You don't get to roam around the city. And besides, it will only embarrass the kid to have his mother show up in chains."

"Actually, the other kids might think it's cool," Titus speaks his thoughts aloud. "What exactly are you in prison for anyway, Mom? Because everyone is going to ask."

"She tried to kill me, remember?" Kylo points out. "That's high treason."

"It was just a hand. Lots of Skywalkers lose a hand. Big deal," Rey makes light of the situation.

Titus persists. "But I thought you agreed that it was an accident, Master? And I remember you forgiving Mom for that too. So, why is she still in jail?"

"For stealing you-"

"I believe you meant to say for living to birth the child you tried to kill along with me—"

"They're at it again." Titus shoots a plaintive look at Nestor as he says this. And seeing her boy's discomfort takes some of the heat from Rey's argument.

She sighs and moderates her tone. "Your father doesn't need a reason to justify jailing me. He can do it because he has the power. Basically, I'm in jail indefinitely for ticking him off. Because apparently, despite being the unacknowledged architect of the Empire, no one went along with my bold idea for habeas corpus," she grouses.

"Habeas what?" Kylo asks.

"Exactly," she hisses.

"Fine," Kylo decides. "Vanee march her into school in chains. Take the whole crew appropriate for an apex prisoner. I don't want our fair princess escaping." Kylo now gives her a rather pointed look. "Rey, I will give orders for security to shoot to kill. If you try anything you had better succeed. Because if you don't and you survive, you are never seeing Titus again. Understood?"

"Yes," she sighs.

She must not seem suitably warned because Kylo raises his voice and waves one gloved finger at her. "I mean it! The kid is dead to you if you try anything, Rey!"

Titus shoots to his feet now to exclaim, "I hate this family! And will everyone stop talking about me like I'm not here?" He starts storming from the room.

Nestor looks concerned. Kylo rolls his eyes. Rey stands to call after him, "Wait-where are you going? Titus?"

The boy whirls as he stands in the doorway. "It looks like I'm going nowhere. I think I'm just as much a prisoner as you are, Mom." Titus looks angry. Very angry. In the moment, his face wears an expression that is very Kylo. "The speeder is waiting. I'm going to school. I'd rather be at school." And that is a telling statement indeed from a kid who has more than one expulsion on his record. Titus storms past Rey's guards who wait outside the door. "Get out of my fucking way!" he hollers.

"Oh," says Rey as she sinks heavily back into her chair. Unsettled and uncertain what to make of this outburst.

Nestor takes it as his cue for his own outburst. He turns to Kylo. "Boss, have you stopped to think about this? Really think about it?" Nestor demands of his longtime friend. "You steal him from school, force the only father he has ever known to walk away, and imprison his mother. Then, it's surprise! Your real father is the Sith Emperor and it will be your job to rule the galaxy one day because you're a magical Skywalker. No pressure, kid, you've got this. Even though you're twelve."

"Don't forget balancing the Force. Kylo wants him to bring balance to the Force," Rey adds.

Nestor shakes his head. "I don't even know what that means."

"No one does," Rey responds.

"Whatever. The point is you're not supposed to fuck him up the way Skywalker and your parents did to you. If you heap too much pressure and expectation on Titus, he's only going to rebel. And then you have a big problem on your hands. So remember—you only get one chance at this, Kylo. And, you know, it wouldn't kill you to make an anonymous appearance at a soccer game now and then." Nestor gives the silent and glaring Kylo a hard look of his own before he heads for the door. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

Two hours later, Rey is garnering quite a few curious looks as she waits her turn outside a classroom with other parents. Rey is in her conspicuous prisoner garb, hair pulled back in a haphazard bun and her face devoid of any makeup. There are stormtroopers guarding all visible exits. Two red robed Force pike wielding Imperial guards flank her while another points a loaded blaster to her temple. All in all, she's quite a sight to behold. Still, despite the shackles and Vanee hovering close by looking like Sheev Palpatine himself back from the dead, Rey holds her head high. Because, really, what else can she do?

When it's her turn, Rey blinks when a teacher pops her head out into the hallway to call out, "Mr. or Mrs. Solo? Is there a Mr. or Mrs. Solo?" Then, the three Imperial guards, Vanee and Rey troop into the classroom with a few troopers following for good measure. And that's how Rey with her clanking chains and gun to her temple meets Titus' lead teacher, the school counselor, and the assistant upper school principal.

"Oh," they all say in shocked unison as they look up to greet the newcomer. Rey watches as one of them mouths the words printed on the front of her prisoner uniform "IN CUSTODY."

After everyone has looked their fill, Rey summons her dignity to begin. "Good morning. I am Titus' mother," she announces in her crisp Coruscant Basic as if she were once more speaking from atop Snoke's throne. "Are you looking for me perhaps?" They are. "Please don't mind my security detail," Rey smiles easily as she gracefully seats herself. She is determined to wear her baggy prison clothes as though they were the designer dresses she used to don as Mrs. Cade Biggs. "You are perfectly safe," she assures the school officials with her best friendly smile. "And so long as I don't attempt to escape, I am perfectly safe too."

"You must be Mrs. Solo," the assistant principal begins tentatively. "We were . . . ah . . . unaware of your circumstances. The emissary from the palace who enrolled Titus did not explain."

"Ah, yes, well my colleague Milo prides himself on his discretion," Vanee speaks using his most grave tones. "I am called Vanee. I administer the Imperial household on behalf of Emperor Ren. Allow me to present Her Sith Highness Princess Renata Palpatine. The princess is Titus' mother. The Emperor himself personally approved her appearance here today. His Excellency is most interested in the progress of young Titus."

Everyone digests this intimidating speech in silence for a long moment. The trio of school representatives look like they are dying to know more. But they are either too scared or too polite to ask. Sensing their hesitation, Rey herself kicks things off. "Please, tell me how is Titus doing."

She hears his progress. How Titus is very facile with languages and excels at math far beyond his years. Were he to complete and return his homework more consistently, Titus would easily have made the honor roll. Could the princess help her son be more organized about his assignments? It's the first of many requests for parent support that all come to Rey. Each time, Vanee promptly chimes in that he will, of course, assist. The fourth time this occurs, the guidance counselor gently suggests that direct parent involvement is best. Yes, I'm sure it is, Rey concedes diplomatically. But that's not possible in this instance. You see, I live in a cell. She hasn't the faintest idea when or where Titus does his homework. Is Titus' father in the picture, the principal now asks with clear trepidation. Might he be available to help? Vanee rushes to explain that Mr. Solo is a very busy man. Mr. Solo works at the palace and he is a great favorite of the Emperor, Vanee divulges and everyone is suitably impressed.

"Good luck, Princess," the principal tells her when the conference concludes. "We will be especially understanding for Titus given his family challenges. It must be difficult for all involved."

"How fortunate that our just Emperor takes a special interest in your boy," the teacher gushes.

"Yes, indeed." Rey's voice is acid.

Vanee correctly reads her tone and starts ushering her out. "Come, Princess. We'd best be going. We don't want you to be late for your daily torture." Vanee imparts this last bit with ghoulish gravitas and an audacious covert wink.

When they are all safely back in the transport, Vanee and Rey collapse into giggles over the whole affair. Did you see the next mom's face, Rey chokes out her words. Lord Vader would have loved it, Vanee approves. Darth Vader loved when things got ridiculous in life. Old Vanee is practically crying he's laughing so hard.

After a few more moments of mirth, Rey suddenly says, "This isn't funny. It's not funny at all. We shouldn't be laughing."

"What else can you do?" Vanee points out. "Crying won't change things. But laughter helps. It always helps."

"Good point." And, on the whole, Rey is satisfied. "Now, no one is going to kick Titus out of school." That's really what she had been concerned about. "He'll have the sympathy vote. That should help when he next gets into trouble."

"Princess, no one is going to kick out the Emperor's son."

"That's what people told me when he was Cade Bigg's son. They were wrong, trust me. And besides, Vanee, no one knows that."

"In due time, my dear. In due time."

Later that same day, Rey is summoned from her cell. You have an official audience with the Master, Vanee tells her. What for? He doesn't know. So Vanee, Rey and her usual parade of thugs make their slow procession to the Emperor's impressive public throne room. They are met at the entrance by the then-lieutenant-now-captain who had once been Snoke's majordomo back in the days when Rey herself had held these audiences. The man stares hard at Rey and looks her up and down before asking incredulously, "Princess, is that you?"

"Yes," she replies somewhat stiffly.

"We were told that you were dead. Have you been a prisoner all this time?"

Rey feels her face flame. She sighs and replies vaguely, "Times have changed since you used to announce guests for me."

"Oh," the man replies softly. "Of course, I see. You're up next. He's in a good mood. You're in luck."

As Rey enters the audience chamber, many hostile eyes watch her slow progress. Garbed as a prisoner and heavily guarded, she merits others' reflexive disdain. For whatever this woman has done, it must be serious to justify the attention of Emperor Ren himself. And judging by the Imperial guard with a lit Force pike to her back, she is dangerous too. Looking around, Rey cynically thinks that some in attendance are hoping to witness an execution.

Rey is not announced by name. Prisoners don't qualify for that sort of recognition. So the majordomo simply says, "This is the prisoner you requested." And then Rey, like all others in the formal presence of the Emperor is expected to kneel. She never gets the chance. Instead, she gets a hard shove from the back that sends her sprawling forward. Hampered by her shackles, Rey struggles to pull herself off the floor.

Kylo sits watching on his high throne in his full regalia. It's been since that first day since Rey has seen him in his mask. It's inscrutable as always. Kylo rises now and stomps down the dais to come to a rest before her. Sinking to a crouch.

"Let me help you," he says softly. And then he puts a hand under each arm and hauls her to her feet.

"Thanks." Rey's automatic response is gratitude. But then, thinking better of it, she glares. "Am I supposed to be impressed? I used to do this, you know. I'm not impressed."

"I remember, Princess. I remember well you sitting on this throne."

She looks around now and sees all the gawking onlookers who are waiting for their own moment with the Emperor. "Not even a private audience, I see. You've lumped me in with all the ceremonial stuff. Are we putting on a show?"

"No. Mostly, this is convenient for my schedule. But it is also for your benefit, Rey. Had I paid a visit to your cell, I would have actual knowledge of the datapad and other contraband Vanee keeps smuggling in to you. And then I would have to order it confiscated."

"Oh. Okay. Got it." Rey really doesn't want to lose her datapad. It's her only link to the outside world.

He must see her eyes wander around the crowd once more because he commands her, "Ignore them. Focus only on me. How was the conference? What did they say?"

"This is about the conference?" Rey hadn't seen that coming. She has been half expecting a formal charge of treason after her lecture to Kylo at breakfast. "You want to know about the conference?" she blinks.

"Yes. Does it surprise you that I want to know how my boy is doing in school?"

"Well, yes, a little."

Her reaction clearly annoys him. "He's my son and I care about his education. You're not the only one who cares about that kid, Rey. And our boy is plenty bright. Titus picked up Kittat like it was child's play. He's actually far more perceptive than he lets on. But he screws up every now and then and shows his hand. So I know he's not stupid despite his terrible track record leading up until now."

"He's not stupid. And there's nothing wrong with him." Rey says these statements with a sincerity that resonates in the Force. "He just needs to mature."

"Agreed. What did they say?"

"It was actually the best one of these conference that I've ever gone to, to be honest," Rey admits. "Titus seems to be doing fine. They didn't even mention any behavioral problems. They didn't complain about his attitude. And that's just . . . odd."

"Not really. I told him he could have a practice sword if he got good grades," Kylo explains. "And if he doesn't, then he gets Force lightning."

"What?"

"I like to give the carrot and the stick, Rey. It works every time."

"If you use lightning on him-" she begins, her voice rising.

But Kylo overrides her concern. "I won't have to. The kid really wants a sword."

And Titus did almost make the honor roll, so Rey backs down. But just when she is getting comfortable with Kylo's incentive, he drops a bomb.

"You know why he wants a sword, right? It's more than just a kid wanting his first weapon. Titus wants to play the hero and go bust you out."

"Oh, no!" Titus will get himself killed. Rey's chains rattle as she raises a hand to grab earnestly at Kylo's arm. She outright pleads, "Kylo—please don't let that happen—"

"I won't."

"Okay." She drops her hand. It is probably supremely inappropriate to actually touch the Emperor. And Kylo had actually kind of flinched. Rey takes a deep breath now, exhales and steps back. Because look at what this fucked up family situation has wrought. "Okay." She steadies herself and refocuses. "What did you tell Titus about fighting at school?" she wants to know.

"Nothing. I don't care if he fights."

"Oh." Rey should have known to expect this attitude. Still, she is confused. "But he's not fighting any more. Do you think he was fighting to get attention? Or doing it to rebel?"

Kylo shrugs. "I don't really care the reason. And if he fights, it might be good practice. I just want that kid to learn. What else did they say?"

"He still has problems turning in assignments on time."

"Some of that is my fault. We go long sometimes at night."

"Teaching the Force," she says softly.

"Yes. But it's not real training. He's too young for that." Kylo shrugs now. "I don't really care about late book reports if it's because he is up learning from me. The Force is far more important than any school assignment." And now Rey sees that parenting with Kylo will be a strange challenge. Because none of the conventional wisdom about teaching responsibility and instilling a work ethic in your child to prepare them for the future really applies for Titus. His future is already determined, whether he likes it or not.

"He's making some friends on the soccer team," Rey continues. "The school counselor said that Titus is pretty well adjusted. She said he seems happy." And Rey frowns because that is confusing to her. For how can her son be happy in this circumstance? He certainly didn't seem happy this morning. Is it all an act? And if it's not, then what does that mean? It's not that Rey is upset that her boy is content and doing well at school, but, yeah, she is sort of upset. It galls her that Kylo appears to be doing something right.

"He's engaged, Rey. The kid has a sense of purpose now. That matters. And it matures him."

"How come you can reach him when Cade and I couldn't?" Rey thinks back to all those learning specialists, psychologists, and occupational therapists she and Cade had consulted through the years. They had tried anything and everything his teachers had recommended. All to no avail. "You don't know anything about kids," Rey complains. "And you barely know Titus."

She can almost see the smirk behind the mask as Kylo replies, "Rey, I used to be Titus. That's the best qualification you can have."

"Well, thank you. For whatever you are doing. At least at school, it's working." Maybe her son's outburst this morning was a one-off, Rey reasons. Just pre-teen hormones combined with a contentious family life and all the emotional upheaval of the past few months.

"I missed a lot of his childhood already," Kylo says softly. "I could have helped a lot sooner had I known he existed."

Are they back to this again? Rey decides not to engage. Instead, she somewhat stiffly says, "Thank you for letting me go to the conference, Kylo. That meant a lot to me. Even with all the guards, it felt sort of normal," she confesses. "I used to be up at school a lot for the girls and Titus. Volunteering and going to soccer games and school plays and stuff like that. I always knew what was going on in their lives. It's hard to do that from a cell. You have to be there . . . " Her voice trails off.

"This is never how I wanted it to be," Kylo tells her. "But it's how it is. Were they kind to you?"

"They were taken aback."

"Naturally."

"But yes, it was like all the other conferences. They could not have been more polite."

"So you were treated like a rich businessman's wife again?"

"Yes. Even looking like this." Rey glances down at her tight tethers that rattle as she moves. She flashes a wry smile up at his mask. "Of course, Vanee kept throwing the title princess around at every opportunity and name-dropping the palace."

"If anyone can be a princess in chains, you can." Kylo tells her. "From the first time I met you, I was struck by how supremely confident you were. You were so poised in your rags. Your Jakku version didn't know to be self-conscious, Rey. I had to take you out of the desert to see you timid. Snoke saw from the beginning the woman you could become. He made you a princess and that's when I saw it too. You were the only one who couldn't see it. You would have been an excellent Empress, Rey, had you tried."

Why are they speaking of this? "That's all in the past now."

"I find you years later and you're some corporate princess now. You have the life I might have given you, but it's with another guy. I could have given you everything Cade Biggs did and then some, Rey."

She looks away. "That's all in the past now."

"Yes, it is. Do you ever think of how things might have been had you stayed?"

She'd be lying if she said no. Especially now given how things have turned out. So Rey tells the truth. "Had I known that I was pregnant, I probably wouldn't have left."

He nods at this. "If Nestor had found just you with Biggs, I would have let you be. It was only because of Titus that I intervened. Rey, I could not ignore what was brewing once I knew that I had a son."

"There was no safe way for me to tell you about him-"

"I know that. But how did you possibly think you could get away with this?"

That answer is easy: because she did. Rey gives an ugly little laugh now. "I kept getting away with it for years. After a while, I stopped looking over my shoulder. And I got sloppy. I went out more. And I came here."

"If you had not come for the party, I would have come for you, Rey. I already knew."

Just the mention of that party has Rey guilty and thinking of Cade. "My folly ruined Cade's life. It ruined our family." Rey looks up into that remote silver and black mask. Somehow, it's easier to say home truths to that mask than it is to Kylo's face, she realizes. "You know, I used to think that you ruined everything you touched, Kylo. But now I wonder if I'm the same way." And that thought terrifies Rey for her son.

"Biggs is bouncing back." Kylo produces a datapad and hands it to her. It is open to a file of pictures of Cade, his girls, and his former wife out and about on the weekend. They are smiling and happy.

Rey hands back the datapad. "That's his ex. They share custody. Cade sees her all the time. At first after the divorce it was ugly. But it's been amicable now for years."

"Biggs will be seeing a lot more of his ex now, Rey. She moved back in last week."

"Oh. But it's only been-"

"A little less than four months," Kylo finishes for her.

"Four months," she echoes unhappily. "I guess I should be glad. I should want him to move on. And maybe it's natural because she's the girls' mother and his ex. It's just . . . " Rey's voice trails off.

"He didn't love you, Rey." Kylo says this gently. But still tears rush to her eyes. "This proves he never loved you. Not the way I loved you."

Rey looks down.

"It took me years to get over you, Rey. Years. Not months. I was still mourning your loss when you had married some other guy and moved on like Biggs is doing now." Kylo crosses his arms now and shifts his stance. He's looming over her, intimidating even though his voice is hushed. "Did you ever love me, Rey? Even a little?"

"I'd like to go back to my cell now." More than anything, Rey wants to go back to her cell to cry her eyes out. For the mess she has made of her life and the consequences that has for others.

"Answer me and you can go."

She looks up, annoyed at his insistence. "What does it matter, Kylo? None of this matters."

"It matters to me."

"Why? It won't change anything now. Not after all that has happened. After all that you've done."

"And all that you've done, too."

Yes, she has made plenty of mistakes. Rey will be the first to admit this. But she can't change them now and talking about them won't help. "The past doesn't matter now." If she could, she would put the past behind her. But apparently, that's never an option when your past is a Sith.

"Don't be a fool, Rey," Kylo hisses. "The past is why we are here. Because if I wasn't so worried that the past would repeat itself again, I might have left you and our son alone. Now, answer me! Did you ever love me?"

He's not going to give up, she sees. And maybe she owes him this answer anyhow. So Rey comes clean. "Yes. I didn't know it then. But I knew it later. When it was too late."

"That's what I thought."

Then Rey is dismissed to be marched back to her cell. And then to breakfast again the next morning. It's back to the old routine unchanged. But in a few days' time when Vanee stops by for his daily chat, he has news. Triumphantly he reports that the Empire has now adopted habeas corpus. In time of peace, prisoners throughout Kylo's realm will now be entitled to know why they are detained and they will have a right to a court hearing. The First Order will no longer cause citizens to disappear, never to be heard from again.

Rey scans the breaking news press release and accompanying legal memorandum issued by the palace. "Who knew Kylo was even listening?" she wonders aloud. "He must have gone and looked it up."

Old Vanee laughs out loud at this. "Probably." Truly, Lord Vader's old flunkey can be quite subversive at times. "What did the Chancellor call you-the architect of the Empire? Well, you are at it again and from a prison cell no less." Vanee thinks a moment. "You're more like the conscience of the Empire, I think. But whatever your role, well done, my dear. Well done."


	15. Chapter 15

The outburst from Titus at breakfast makes an impression on Rey. She privately resolves to tone down her ongoing verbal brawl with Kylo. They have been going at each other every morning for two months now and there is never a winner. She and Kylo bicker to a draw and their son, it seems, is the real loser.

So today as Rey listens to Vanee update Kylo on the preparations for the upcoming Empire Day celebration, she is subdued. This is the annual showcase moment for the First Order that will be broadcast live over the holonet to billions watching at home. It is serious business, meticulously planned, and very slick. There will be the usual military parade followed by the Chancellor's State of the Galaxy speech and Kylo's big dramatic moment pardoning prisoners under threat of execution. After that, there is to be a glittering reception at the palace attended by the most important members of the Senate and the upper echelon of military officers. This year's theme is patriotism, Rey learns. Everything from Nestor's speech to the grand reception will extol the virtue of loyalty to the Emperor and to his cause of peace and order.

Cesi Flick, Nestor's wife who Rey knew long ago, is the taste arbiter for it all. Her name comes up time and again as the person responsible for all aesthetic decisions. Lady Flick will choose everything from the table decorations to the menu. She and Vanee will decide the seating chart and the pecking order of the receiving line that culminates for guests in a few brief seconds kneeling before the Emperor himself. Rey knows of Lady Flick's social prominence, of course. Cesi Flick is the de facto First Lady of the galaxy and a much photographed, very recognizable woman. All this party planning is a natural fit for the hyper-organized, very sophisticated and opinionated woman who Rey remembers from years past. Cesi Flick must be great at this, Rey thinks. And Kylo evidently agrees because whenever his opinion is solicited, he defers to Lady Flick. Whatever Cesi wants is fine, Kylo tells Vanee time and again as Vader's old caretaker ticks through his list of questions.

"How is Cesi these days?" Rey asks Vanee. "I've only seen her in pictures through the years."

"Busy," the old man answers. "Lady Flick has a whole committee to help her plan Empire Day. But that's all for show. She's involved in every detail herself." Rey smiles at this, for it's just what she would have expected. "Lady Flick asks after you each time I see her," Vanee divulges. "She remembers you very fondly, Princess."

And that's how Rey thinks of Cesi too. The few months Rey had spent living with the Flick family on a First Order compound on the Inner Rim had been happy days of domesticity. And they had formed the model for the organized, contented household Rey herself had later created for the Biggs family. "I bounced Cesi's girls on my knee when they were little. How old are they now?" Rey asks.

Vanee thinks a moment. "Fifteen, seventeen, and nineteen, I think. The oldest is studying at Coruscant University."

"Like Lady Cara," Titus volunteers. And that realization makes Rey blink and look a bit repulsed at Kylo. Then Titus makes it even worse, adding, "I think Lady Cara said she's good friends with the Chancellor's daughter." Kylo has the good grace to squirm a bit now, Rey sees. And the cradle robbing Sith should, she thinks.

"Wow," Rey says aloud. "Time sure flies. I guess nothing marks the passage of time quite like watching children grow up." She looks to her son now. "Titus, I remember when you were a baby. And now, you're almost a teenager. It's crazy how fast it goes."

"Especially when you don't know you are missing it all," Kylo gripes.

Remembering her resolution to dampen the conflict rather than to promote it, Rey declines to argue the point. Instead she asks Kylo something that's been on her mind. Rey thinks she knows the answer, but she asks anyhow. "Do I get the benefit of your new civil rights decree? Will I get a hearing?"

Kylo shakes his head no in mock regret. "Those reforms are prospective, I'm afraid. Rey, they do not apply to existing prisoners like yourself."

"That's not fair!" Titus speaks up. Up until now, the boy has sat mostly observing as he gobbles everything in sights. Titus eats like he's starving, but he's still skinny as can be.

"Life isn't fair," his father retorts. "Get used to it. Sith concern themselves foremost with power, not with justice. Power is necessary, Titus, but justice is an amenity."

"It's okay," Rey tries to pacify her glowering son. After what Kylo had told her about a sword, Rey is fearful of promoting conflict between father and son. "Titus, I wasn't expecting him to say yes. I'm not an ordinary prisoner."

"Yes, you're his wife!"

"It's okay, Titus. Let it go. At least others will get the benefit of his reform." Rey turns back to Kylo now and tries to say something positive. "You know, you are far more fair than I imagined. On the whole," she amends. "Just not with me." He raises an eyebrow at this and Rey decides, "All in all, you're a far better leader than I expected."

"So I exceeded your low expectations? That's being damned with faint praise," Kylo smirks. "You always thought the worst of me," he grumbles out his frustration.

"I saw the worst of you, Kylo. All those prison camps and executions. The deliberate targeting of civilians. The Siege of Coruscant was a nightmare," she says, frowning at all the long-repressed memories that now come flooding back. "That was such a horrible, horrible time," she whispers hoarsely, looking away. "I'm so glad it's over."

"My violence had a purpose," Kylo maintains. "It always has a purpose."

This is an old line Rey has heard many times before. "I know that. But having a reason to do something is not the same as having a justification." She looks over at Titus now. "Remember that. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. How you use power matters." That was the underlying theme of the scant Jedi teaching Rey can recall.

Kylo shrugs. "We rebuilt. Even the Mid Rim looks good these days. And my capital is more beautiful than ever. We cleaned up everything but the Underworld."

"I suppose," Rey half agrees. She hadn't been talking about the buildings. "It's better than ever if you don't go looking for all the missing inhabitants." Still, she cocks her head now at Kylo. "Your tolerance for dissent has truly surprised me. I never would have expected that of a Sith."

"I tolerate your dissent every morning," Kylo points out. Then he shrugs. "As long as they are marginalized and ineffective, dissenters are fine. They are even useful at times."

"Sly as always," Rey gives him a knowing look.

Kylo takes this as a compliment. "Hey, I'm a Sith," he grins broadly back at her. And that felt weirdly like flirting. Rey blinks and quickly looks down.

"Rey." When she doesn't look up, he says her name softly again. "Rey." Kylo catches her gaze and holds it. "I promised you things would get better in time when the war ended. You just didn't stick around long enough to see it."

She doesn't want to rehash the past again. "Kylo—"

He overrides her. "I wanted your help in all of this. But when I needed you most—when the galaxy needed you—you were gone. Off chasing the normal life you always wanted but will never have." Kylo looks over to their son now to instruct, "Force-users like us are not like other people. We are an aberration so by definition, we will never be normal. We are agents of change who will never completely conform. Don't waste effort trying to conform."

"You knew I didn't want this life—" Rey finds herself arguing despite her best intentions.

But Kylo gives her an understanding look that stops the big speech she is working up to. "Look, I know that Jakku is why you craved a normal life, Rey. And don't think that now and then I haven't wished for a normal life myself. But we have a responsibility." He looks sternly to Titus now. "So do you, kid."

Rey makes a face. "This. . . " She points a finger to and from her and Kylo. "You and I . . . this is why the Jedi forbid attachments. This concentration of power in one family. This dependence. This vainglory. Kylo, this is everything Master Luke and the Jedi Order feared."

"What's an attachment?" Titus pipes up. He looks fascinated by the bits and pieces revealed of his parents' history he knows nothing about.

"Love," Kylo answers him simply. "Attachment is love." Then he corrects her. "Rey, you're wrong. Attachment is the very reason for the Skywalkers. Old Snoke conjured us in the Force to be just this. A family, allied together for a common purpose. To transcend the Rule of Two and to break free of Jedi dogma." He turns again to their boy. "Attachment is a Jedi concept. It has no meaning anymore. You never need worry about it. There is no shame in loving someone, Titus. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. Emotions are a source of power and strength. They make us fully human. To deny yourself emotion is to lose your humanity."

"So the Jedi forbid love?" Titus is trying to understand.

"Essentially, yes. Love and sex were forbidden to Force-users. The Jedi Order demanded celibacy."

"Oh." Titus sounds unenthused about that.

His reaction prompts Kylo to doll out some man-to-man father-son talk. "No worries, kid, Sith love sex."

Rey feels her face flame at these words.

As usual, Milo is pretending to not see or hear anything. At his side, old Vanee is dabbling his napkin to his lips to hide his wide smile.

Rey decides it's time for a new topic. "What are you teaching Titus at night?" she asks Kylo.

"Just the basics. I'm in no rush. We have plenty of time." Rey catches the approving glance Kylo shoots over at their son. It's clear Kylo genuinely likes Titus.

"Are you pouring the wine with the Force at dinner these days?" Rey asks her boy. "I used to do that for Snoke."

"Your father did too when he was young," Milo reminisces. "My old Master enjoyed his wine."

"I only drink the hard stuff," Kylo admits. "I never developed a taste for wine."

"No beer?" Rey asks, remembering the Sith she had lived with on the _Finalizer_.

"Yeah," Kylo admits. "I still drink beer."

"He won't let me taste it," Titus speaks up to complain.

"You're too young." Rey and Kylo say this in unison. They look to one another in surprise and Vanee laughs out loud.

"You're supposed to teach me the Light, Mom," Titus speaks up again. "When does she get to teach me the Light?"

"I never learned much from Master Luke," Rey admits. "At the time, I didn't really appreciate what he was offering me because of his motive."

"What motive?" Titus asks.

"Master Luke wanted to train me to kill your father. I refused."

"She changed her mind later," Kylo quips.

And Rey ignores it. "Master Luke lost all credibility with me after that. I was a poor Jedi student after that," she confesses.

"Not as bad as I was." Competitive Kylo isn't about to be outdone. "I was the worst padawan of all," he boasts proudly.

Rey thinks a moment then agrees. "Yeah, probably."

"Why is that?" Titus asks. He's curious.

"Because I killed all of my classmates," Kylo answers. "There was a war going on and they were the enemy. But that is the past. There will be no more wars. Not among laypeople. Not among Force-users."

"But I thought peace is a lie." Titus is confused.

"It is. Conflict is constant. But conflict doesn't have to mean war. Kid, if you had seen what your mother and I saw, if you had lived in a time of all-out war, you would understand. By the time it was all over, whole swaths of the Mid Rim were in ruins. And Coruscant here was destroyed. Your mother is right," he reflects. "That was a horrible time."

"Billions were dead," Rey says softly. "Many, many people died for your father's ambitions, Titus."

Kylo disagrees with this characterization. "Snoke and I were just the leaders. We were not the cause. We were a reform movement whose time had come, kid. All the latent conflicts of the past thirty years bloomed to fruition. We were always going to win, it was just a matter of how and when." Kylo chides her now, "We lost a lot on our side, too, Rey. And we lost Snoke."

"May the Force be with him," Milo intones solemnly in the silent moment that follows. And Rey sees from the bleak look on Kylo's face that the loss of his beloved Master still cuts deep. Many years after his demise, the Muun still exerts a strong presence for his Sith family.

Emperor Ren looks quietly determined now as again he imparts instruction to his son. "Titus, the Sith exploit conflict for our own purposes. Sometimes we create the conflict, sometimes the conflict already exists, sometimes we are the conflict. But wherever there is conflict, there are winners and losers. Like I said earlier, life is not fair. We Sith do what must be done to achieve our goals."

"The ends justify the means," Rey summarizes succinctly for her son.

"Yes," Kylo agrees.

"So wait—back up." Titus looks to Rey. "You were supposed to kill him, Mom?" And then before she can answer, the boy looks to Kylo. "You said you killed the other Jedi trainees. Were you supposed to kill Mom too?"

Kylo answers first. "Yeah, I was. I . . . uh . . . got distracted. Because, as I said earlier, Sith love—"

"Kylo!" Rey interrupts. She feels her face flame anew. "Don't go there!"

"What? The kid knows he didn't come from the stork."

"Gross . . . just gross . . . " Titus screws up his face at the very thought.

"I was crazy about your mother back then," Kylo reminisces. He's unrepentant. "Even skinny in her desert rags, your mother put Lady Cara and the like to shame. And then when I caught your mother at the Resistance, she was all cleaned up and wow . . . just wow . . . "

"You're oversharing," Titus groans. "I don't want to hear this."

"None of us do," Rey chimes in. That earns her a suggestive, knowing smirk from Kylo.

Now Milo decides to tell the tale. "Your father showed up at his Master's bunker with your mother in tow. Lord Ren couldn't bear to kill your mother himself. And so, dutiful Apprentice that he was, Lord Ren surrendered her to Lord Plagueis."

"How romantic," old Vanee gushes and Rey shoots him a look.

"Yes," she can't quite keep the sarcasm from her voice. "Nothing says 'I love you' like dragging your girlfriend to your Sith Master for killing."

"Hey—it all worked out in the end," Kylo protests.

"Yes, Darth Plagueis was delighted about the whole turn of events," Milo recalls. "In time, your mother became a great favorite of his."

"That's true. He didn't kill me, he kept me," Rey remembers aloud. "But it was touch-and-go there for a bit."

Kylo nods. "Snoke did things like that. Just when you thought you thought you could predict him, he would surprise you."

And Rey knows now that Kylo is thinking of his Master's sacrifice at Crait. She catches the forlorn look that briefly passes Kylo's features and gives him a sad smile of sympathy. Kylo had loved old Snoke like a father. And to this day, years later, he misses him still. For what Kylo had told her in his throne room just days ago is true: Kylo does love deeply. And faithfully, too. This is the good in Kylo Ren, Rey sees suddenly. The man who needs love so desperately and loves fervently in return.

Once, he had loved her. But not anymore, she knows.

"The Sith are complicated men," Milo concludes quietly. And that's the understatement of the year, Rey thinks.

Now it is Kylo's turn to bless his old Master's memory, "May the Force be with him."

On that somber note, Titus climbs to his feet. "I should be going." Rey stands too to follow him to the door. "Good luck at the big game tonight," she tells Titus, giving him a quick hug. "I wish I could come. I'll be rooting for you." She smooths the shoulders of her son's school uniform now, noticing again how much he has grown.

"I like it when you don't fight as much," Titus whispers as she leans in. "It's better this way."

And Rey is glad that he has noticed. Happy too that it is helping. More and more, Rey is coming to grips with the reality of her new existence. The details may change some in the future, but her life will probably always be some version of how she lives now. She'll be trapped in a cell except for a brief daily interaction with her son and some isolated special instances of reprieve.

It's hard to be only thirty-four and realize that life as you know it is over. But Rey has always been strong and she's determined to get through this too. This time around, she's not a scavenger on Jakku fighting for her own survival. She's the disgraced pretend-wife to a Sith lord and the mother to the Skywalker heir. It's not about her anymore, Rey has come to see. Titus is what matters.

If she is to exert any tempering influence on her son, Rey needs to continue to see him. And if her boy is to survive and thrive, he needs to live in sufficient harmony with his father. She doesn't want her boy getting himself killed on her behalf. The only solution here is to contain the conflict, she reasons. She can't bring herself to pretend to be happy about the situation, but she can be less overtly angry at Kylo. And especially after conversations like this morning at breakfast, that's more and more how Rey feels. She's plenty angry, yes. But she's increasingly sad. Because this is where she and Kylo have ended up after all that has come before. It's just . . . sad.

* * *

Kylo is at work in his office when he senses his son's imminent return in the Force. Titus has a strong, bold Force imprint. It's not the blinding beguiling Light that is Rey. But it's not the throbbing, threatening feel of uncloaked Darkness either. It's something in between. Unformed, unfinished, malleable. Waiting to be shaped and molded with the right training. From the first moment that Kylo had seen pictures of this boy, Kylo had hoped for this power. Lusted for this potential. This time, the universe had not disappointed him. For Titus has a connection to the Force that is effortless and intuitive, like Rey's is. Whether the boy is using the Force doesn't matter because he is constantly immersed in it. His son had never noticed because it is his normal. But that is not normal. Titus has incredible talent. He doesn't know it yet. And Kylo is disinclined to tell him. For as excited as he is to teach him, Kylo worries too whether he will be up to the task. That is yet another reason to go slowly.

But that does not mean they will not train at all. There are two parts of the day that Emperor Ren consistently looks forward to, and the nightly hour or two spent with his son is one of them. He covets time with his son. Kylo wasn't about to cede Titus to the Flick family for the night. He gets so little of his son anyway. Plus, Kylo has years of absence to make up for. So the boy is coming home straight after his soccer game, as instructed.

Emperor Ren decides his work day is done. He makes his way quickly to the landing pad. He is there waiting as the speeder ferrying Milo and Titus returns home. The pair are animated, Kylo sees from afar, no doubt reliving some thrilling moment of the game as they describe it to the speeder driver. It must have been a win, Kylo surmises. For the kid's ear-to-ear grin is visible from twenty meters away.

But the smile fades from his face when the boy catches sight of him standing in full regalia, arms crossed and waiting.

"You're late."

"Good evening, Master," Milo quickly inserts himself to make the excuses. "We came as soon as we could. The game went to double overtime." Milo looks proudly over at the boy by his side. "Titus here had the winning kick. He was the hero of the game."

"All the other kids were going out with their parents to celebrate," Titus scowls. Clearly, he would rather be wasting time with his friends. Kylo has no sympathies for this position. The Sith heir to the galaxy needs to learn discipline and responsibility, and Kylo sees no reason not to teach this from a young age. And so, the conspicuous heavily armed and chauffeured palace speeder had whisked young Titus away.

"The Chancellor sends his regards," Milo says pleasantly. That's his understated way of telling Kylo that his own absence was noted.

"Good night, Milo," the Sith replies curtly. That's his direct way of dismissing the faithful servant whose subtle censure is annoying him.

"Come, let's get started," he tells Titus. Then he starts marching into his palace with his tired kid loping along a little behind.

"I want to tell Mom," Titus blurts out suddenly.

Sure. Whatever. "I won't spoil the surprise tomorrow at breakfast. She'll be wanting to know."

"No." The boy digs in his heels. "I want to tell Mom now. I want to see her."

Kylo stops in his tracks. He has not expected this request. The boy stopped asking to see his mother once Kylo began allowing them daily visits at breakfast. Since then, the kid has kept up his complaining about releasing Rey, but he hasn't moaned more about seeing her. In fact, Titus has never been down to see his mother's cell. And Kylo himself hasn't been there either since that first night. Truthfully, it's too uncomfortable for him. Disheartening too. For he never wanted Rey for his prisoner. But that's how it has turned out. Kylo takes peeks now and then at the camera feed, but even that he consciously limits. Too much Rey raises old temptations. _I will be your Light again._ Especially now that she has confessed to loving him. It had been too little, too late. But it too had raised old temptations.

"Mom always went to games. Even the rainy, muddy ones. She would have been there tonight if you would have let her."

"Going to the school conference last week was the exception. Not the rule," Kylo admonishes.

The kid stays the course. "Look, I'm not asking you to let her out. I know you're never going to let her out. So, I'm asking to see her. That's different."

The easy thing would be to say no. Still, Kylo hesitates. Seeing the hard belligerence in his son's face, Kylo decides that permitting a visit could be a good thing. He can give the kid what he's asking for and at the same time issue a warning best given in demonstration rather than words.

"Five minutes," Kylo decides. Then he wrenches off his helmet and begins mentally preparing himself for Rey.

Together, he and Titus descend into the basement of his palace. It's a lot like Snoke's old bunker down here, with a utilitarian, military feel to it that is completely at odds with the bright, airy luxury of the upper floors. This is an area built solely for function. For data servers and storage, for housekeeping and supplies. There is nothing down here to see. Kylo has only ever wandered down here once before. He has never had any other occasion to do so.

"This is where you keep her?" Titus' eyes are alert as they walk down narrow corridor after narrow corridor towards the small detention area deep within his palace.

"Yes." Now Kylo begins actively dissuading Titus from any escape attempt. "Are you counting the guards? There are twelve men between her cell and the elevator and there's one way in or out. And that doesn't account for the backup that can appear in less than a minute once the alarm is raised. You'd have to get in and get out in less than a minute and that's assuming the elevator isn't immediately shut down."

Does the kid look sufficiently intimidated? Kylo isn't sure. So he keeps going. "You'd need far more than a practice sword to get down here. Those Force pikes are a match for your sword and then some. Every man here is a crack shot with a blaster too. Plus, they are specially trained to be Force resistant. You can't mind trick this crew or even easily freeze them. Don't be fooled into thinking these are the run of the mill troopers."

As the kid digests this, Kylo piles on. "Your mother is a maximum security prisoner so everyone down here has standing orders to shoot to kill. The first target is always the prisoner, kid. So even if you make it out alive, she won't. She'd be the first to go down." Probably because she'd be throwing herself in front of Titus to save him, Kylo knows. Because that's something Rey would do. "She's rusty in the Force and never had any real chance to test the combat skills I taught her. So you couldn't depend on her blocking blaster bolts for you. All it takes is one, kid."

"I'd need help," the boy concludes. And Kylo can't tell if the kid is pleased that Kylo is taking him seriously as a threat, or if he's just posturing.

"You won't get help," Kylo warns. "Vanee might smuggle your mother a datapad and food to make this all a little easier, but he's not about to help bust her out. And all Nestor's bluster is just his guilt talking. Nestor Flick is the most loyal man in my Empire. He proved that by bringing me knowledge of you. Nestor talks back now and then, but he always follows orders."

Kylo comes to a halt now and looks around. "Back in the day, it would take Nestor, myself and a few knights to get in here plus backup on the landing pad to get us in and out." He turns to his adolescent son. "You won't be doing this, kid. So don't bother to try."

"This place is awful," Titus says softly.

"You saw Jakku," Kylo mutters in response as he resumes walking. "This is better than Jakku."

"I'm not so sure. She was free on Jakku."

"And starving and thirsty and hot," Kylo points out. "And in constant danger."

"But she's alone here."

"She gets out every morning for breakfast. And tonight, she's getting five minutes with you. That's not exactly the normal routine for prisoners in solitary."

Kylo breezes past the concentration of men as they enter the tiny detention complex. It's basically two cells and a guard station. "Excellency," the officer on duty snaps to attention. Kylo watches as his eyes sweep over the boy at his side in the grass stained soccer uniform. It's not the attire that grabs the man's attention, of course. It's the strong resemblance between father and son. It's in the features, the dark hair, and the angry air about them both.

"Let the kid in to see his mother," Kylo orders gruffly. The officer leaps to comply. The cell door whooshes open and Rey is revealed sitting on the floor. Kylo has forgotten her habit of sitting on the floor. It had remained long after her Jakku days.

"Titus?"

"Mom!" The boy's eyes light up as he charges into the room with Kylo stomping in behind.

Kylo watches amused as Rey furtively stuffs the contraband datapad she is using into the contraband pillow Vanee has smuggled her. Looking about the room as mother and son embrace, Kylo sees other evidence of Vanee's handiwork. There is a small flowering plant in one corner, the only evidence of nature in this small, sterile room. Beside it is an audio speaker of some sort to play music. Kylo sees a pair of mittens and what look like thick socks laid out to dry. Everything he sees is forbidden, but none of it is actually concerning. There are no tools, sharp objects or swaths of fabric. Nothing useful Rey can use to hurt herself or to break out. Vanee has bent the rules, Kylo decides, and not broken them. And that's very Vanee.

His son is looking askance at Rey's surroundings. "This is where you live? Mom, I knew you were lying to me."

"Yeah, this is it. It's fine." Rey makes light of the situation. "If you've been to Jakku, you know I've lived in worse places."

The boy is frowning now. "Mittens? What do you have mittens for?"

"Oh, nothing." Rey brushes him off. She looks him up and down. "How was the game? Did you win the game?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we won." Titus is distracted as he keeps looking around the room at the small shower stall and toilet. Rey has a bar of soap and a toothbrush. The facilities are crude but effective. It's a cell, after all, not a five-star hotel.

"So this means the playoffs, right?" Rey wants to talk about the game but the boy is consumed with the cell. He picks up a mitten now.

"It's wet."

"I wash them once a week."

"Why?"

"To be clean."

"Why mittens? You must be cold. Mittens are for when you are cold."

Rey looks a bit uncomfortable now and her eyes find Kylo's then look away. "It's cold in here sometimes. And I don't like to be cold. I'm from the desert, remember? It's hard to sleep when I'm cold."

Yes, Kylo remembers that. Rey used to hog the covers in bed. And then he would be the one who was cold.

"You don't have a blanket?" Titus asks.

"No. Tell me about the game. What was the score?"

The boy ignores the question and whirls on him. "Why can't she have a blanket if she's cold?"

Kylo looks to the officer on duty who supplies the standard protocol. "Prisoners in solitary do not get to keep a blanket in their cell. Towels are only as an as-needed basis."

"Why is that?" his outraged princeling demands.

"So she won't hang herself with it," the officer replies matter-of-fact.

"Hang herself?" Titus shoots the guy a look. "Really?"

"Yeah, I know," Rey speaks up. "I'm the last person who would ever do that. I survived Jakku, remember? And the Resistance. And Snoke. And Hux kidnapping me. And your father trying to kill me. So, yeah, I can survive this cell."

The increasingly nervous looking officer takes refuge in the chain of command. "We have orders and we follow them."

"Orders from who?" Titus demands

"From him. From the Emperor himself."

"Fine. Here, Mom." Kylo watches as his son drags his uniform jersey over his head. He hands it to Rey. "Take it. It's dirty but maybe you can wash it in the sink. It will keep you warm at least."

"That is not permissible," the officer speaks up, looking to Kylo to intervene and back him up.

"The fuck it is!" His scrawny, bare chested boy whirls on the naysaying officer and then shoots an icy glare at him. "She has a shirt on now, doesn't she? So, it's permissible."

"Excellency?" The officer looks concerned. "Those two shirts tied together might be sufficient fabric to fashion a rope of sorts."

Whatever. Kylo shrugs. He's not going to blunt his son's gallant offer. But he can't resist putting his own spin on the situation. "Let her have it. If she hangs herself, she can do so with the full knowledge that her son will be both heartbroken and guilty for his part in it."

Rey now cocks her head and pops out her hip. It's strangely reminiscent of Leia Organa. Rey always reminds him of Leia Organa when she's in righteous mode. "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction, Kylo."

"Good," he smirks. "Because who else will fight with me at breakfast?"

"Really?" Titus explodes at him. "You really want to joke about shit like that? Because it's not funny! None of this is funny!"

"I'm sorry, Titus," Rey instantly backs down. "Thank you for the—"

"You're as bad as he is some days, you know it?" Titus interrupts and glares at Rey. "I hate this family!" The boy brushes hard past the detention officer to storm out of the cell. "Out of my fucking way!"

Kylo smirks at this adolescent bravado, feeling suddenly indulgent towards his little Sith. Kylo is fine for his kid to blow off some steam. And if his kid is quick to anger, well that's probably genetics at work. Plus, venting intense emotions is good for a Sith, even if it is a bit annoying to tolerate. Nestor has counseled him to be patient with kids this age and Kylo is trying to take that advice to heart. He's not so old that he can't remember what it was like to be young and angry at the world in general. And don't all kids hate their family? Kylo certainly did. "Stupid kid," Kylo mutters aloud. But he's smiling.

When Rey turns back around, she is not. She's holding Titus' dirty shirt in both of her hands, gulping down air as she fights tears. And, oh fuck. He should have seen this coming. Kylo barks at the lingering officer. "Leave us!" Then closes the cell door with a wave of his hand and the Force.

"Rey . . ." He steps forward automatically. Then thinks better of it and steps back. "Don't cry, Rey . . ." he says tentatively.

"I c-can't h-help it," she sputters out. "He g-gave m-me the shirt off his back, Kylo. So I w-wouldn't be cold." She wipes at her eyes now. "Under all that anger, he really is a s-sweet b-boy." And that's something only a mother could say. Because what Sith wants a sweet son?

"They did win the soccer game," Kylo informs her. He's searching for a safe topic that will damp down the drama. He doesn't like to see Rey in tears. She's not the crying type. It's making him uncomfortable. Seeing this in person is far worse than seeing it on the cell camera feed. "The kid scored the winning goal in double overtime. Milo said he was the hero of the game."

"That's so Titus," Rey nods as she slowly gets ahold of herself. "He always does w-well under pressure. When he focuses, that kid can do almost anything." And that's a very true observation, Kylo thinks.

"Maybe I should let him have a night off from training," Kylo thinks aloud. "He's tired and I doubt he can focus now anyway."

"He's just a kid, Kylo," Rey reminds him between sniffs. "I know you have grand plans for him, but he's just a kid. And all this change is really hard on him. And you . . . well, you always were very intense."

"He'll adjust."

"I hope so," Rey whispers aloud. "I really hope so." She looks up now and tells him, "What you said today at breakfast about my wanting a normal life . . . that's true. I did want a normal life, Kylo. But it wasn't just for me, it was for Titus too. Cade could give that to us. It wasn't perfect but it was good. And now, it's gone. Look at us . . . look at the mess we are." Rey looks miserable. "I had such a nice family . . . "

And that comment instantly annoys him. Because her nice family was predicated on lies and it essentially stole his son from him. And who cares about having a nice family? They are the Skywalkers and they are a powerful family. And power trumps nice any day. "Biggs wasn't the man for you. And he's not the father Titus needs," Kylo growls.

"Maybe so," Rey is willing to concede. "But it was normal. Kylo, we need more normal. For our son's sake." She looks up at him now with tears still glittering in her eyes. "Please, for his sake." Her lower lip is trembling and Rey looks as though she might dissolve into tears again. And oh, fuck, angry mother Rey he understands. But sad teary mother Rey confuses him.

"Rey, don't cry—"

"I'm sorry. It upsets me to see Titus so upset. It ruined all the fun of his big game. He didn't even want to talk about his big game . . . " The tears start leaking out again. "He's upstairs worrying now about me and mittens. Titus is a fretter—have you figured that out? He worries over things and obsesses—"

"Like me."

"Yeah . . . like you. He's gonna go brood now like you did. He's so much like you . . . "

Impulsively, Kylo pulls her into a hug now. They just stand there for a moment in each other's arms. Rey's head rests on his shoulder and then she sags into him a moment. Just for a moment. And that's when Kylo abruptly breaks the embrace.

"Goodnight, Rey," he tells her after he thrusts her away and leaps back. He is very wary of this woman and the power she still has over him. He won't be lured back into Rey's snare. Once was enough.

But lost in her misery, Rey doesn't seem to notice his skittishness. "Yeah," she says without looking at him. "See you at breakfast, Kylo."


	16. Chapter 16

Kylo takes her request for normalcy to heart. He decides to permit Titus a night off from Force training for some fun. Rey hears the news from Vanee during a covert visit to her cell. "The young Master is going to the pod racing championships tomorrow night with the Flick family. Your boy is very excited."

And Vanee is correct. The pod race is all Titus can talk about the next morning at breakfast. He details his full analysis of the field of racers, explaining who he thinks will make the top three and why. Kylo has his nose buried in his datapad the whole time. Rey is not certain if he's listening. But whatever. She and Titus keep chatting away. It's rare to see her boy this animated about anything. And that makes Rey very happy. Plus, she too loves a good pod race.

"When I was your age," Rey tells her son, "I used to dream about being in one of the pit crews. That seemed like the most glamorous job in the universe for a mechanic girl like myself."

"More glamorous than being Empress?" Kylo drawls. Because, yes, he's listening. "You turned that gig down, I recall."

Rey ignores him. She's determined not to be drawn into an argument. She and Titus now launch into a discussion of how much cheating constitutes foul play in a pod race. It's a hotly contested issue among Rey, Milo, Titus and Vanee. Rey is in the minority thinking some shady activities are permissible.

Again, Kylo looks up briefly from his datapad. "Your Jakku is showing." Kylo can't resist some snark.

"So says Mr. Law and Order." Rey rolls her eyes. "I want to hear all about the crashes," Rey tells Titus ghoulishly. "The best part is the crashes."

"And you say you hate violence." It's Kylo again.

"Danger is part of the thrill," she points out. "Otherwise, it's boring. Like watching golf or fishing on the holonet."

"I like fishing," Milo protests.

"You would," Vanee retorts. "There's no excitement in fishing."

"Unless you're the fish," Milo points out.

"Is Nestor entertaining at the race?" Kylo asks Milo. "Will Cesi have a suite full of Senators to wine and dine?"

"I believe it's just the Flick family in the Imperial suite tonight, Master."

Kylo chews this over. "Then let's go. All of us. You too, Rey." She blinks at this unexpected suggestion. Kylo shrugs. "It will be some normal family fun." Rey hears his subtle emphasis on 'normal.' He had been listening, it seems.

And so, the caped and masked Emperor Ren, his personal assistant, head of household, some random kid, and a prisoner woman in shackles all appear that evening in the plush Imperial Suite at the gigantic Coruscant Arena. It's the biggest pod race of the season and the place is packed. The party from the palace joins Chancellor Flick and the First Lady of the galaxy, the much-admired Lady Flick. The three lovely blonde teenaged Flick daughters round out the group.

There are some friends in life with whom you can automatically pick up where you left off, no matter how much time has passed since you last saw them. Cesi Flick is one of those friends. As soon as Cesi sees Rey, she is instantly at her side. "Look at you! Back from the dead and back from being blonde!" Lady Flick's face is lit ear to ear with a wide smile.

"Step back, Ma'am. She's dangerous," a guard attempts to intercept Cesi on her way in for a hug. But Lady Flick is having none of it.

"Point that thing someplace else," she says imperiously as she neatly brushes aside the barrel pointed at Rey's head. "And put the safety on. You're not going to shoot anyone tonight while I'm hostess."

"But Ma'am-"

Lady Flick leans in for a better look at the blaster. "Is that a dirty gun? That's a dirty gun. Don't let Nestor Flick catch you with a dirty gun. You'd best go sit in the corner and clean it," Lady Flick makes a not so subtle suggestion. Then she puts a motherly arm around Rey and beckons over her girls to say hello and meet their Aunt Rey. After all the hellos are over, Cesi sequesters Rey off to the side for a cosy chat. Everyone else watches the hour of hype that is the buildup to the ten minutes of pod racing which is the main event.

Cesi doesn't even blink at Rey in her chains and prison clothes. Nestor must have prepared her, Rey thinks. For her part, Cesi Flick looks just like she does in photographs. With beautiful bouncy blonde hair still worn longish even though she's over forty-five. She has clear glowing skin with nary a line or sag. Tonight, Lady Flick is casually dressed in elegant, camera-friendly clothes that look good from all angles. This is a woman who has long been in the public eye. She is well aware of the attention she receives even if she pretends to ignore it. Rey had a brush with this same media scrutiny during her princess days. She knows that there is nothing effortless or natural about this level of grooming and presentation. Nestor Flick might be something of a man of the people with his modest middle-income background and Mid Rim accent, but Lady Flick is Upper Level posh through and through. And that's what people want from their First Lady. A princess on a pedestal. A class act. Cesi Flick is that in spades.

"I'm so glad you're here tonight," Cesi leans in to tell Rey. The preliminaries are over and so Lady Flick gets right to the serious talk. And when two women over age thirty have a serious talk, it's almost always about men, family and feelings. Lady Flick glances over now at her husband across the room. "I thought I was going to have to send Nestor over to breakfast again to check on you. The last time he was there, he said things were pretty tense."

"It's a little better now," Rey decides. "I've been trying to tone it down from my end. It really bothers Titus when we fight."

Cesi nods at this wisdom. "Is it working?"

"Some days yes, some days no," Rey admits. But on the whole, she is encouraged. Actually, tonight has her really encouraged. Rey glances over to see Titus sitting with Kylo and Nestor at the front of the suite. They are deep in conversation. And even though Kylo wears his mask in this very public setting, Rey can see from his body language that he is relaxed. Maybe even happy.

She wonders for a moment whether their son finds it strange to speak to his father tonight in a mask. Maybe not, since the mask is how Titus knew Kylo Ren from afar for most of his life. Only those trusted to be within the palace walls ever get to see the man beneath the mask. Rey herself has never been a fan of the mask. It hides the distinctively ugly-handsome face that is so compelling. It squashes all that shiny, long hair she used to run her fingers through. And it's one more layer of secrecy between Kylo Ren's true self and the persona he presents to the world.

Lady Flick catches her studying Kylo. She gives Rey a frank look. "Talk to me. Let me help. I want to help."

"I don't think anyone can help," Rey sighs. "We're both just so angry, Cesi. And Kylo is cold now. He never used to be like that. I think he needs to punish me. He doesn't even look like it's very satisfying to him. But he's doing it anyway."

Cesi is quiet a long moment before she divulges, "Kylo went into a tailspin after you left him. He held it together for a few months until he and Nestor got the Empire up and running. Then he sort of melted down behind closed doors. Destroying things. Killing people. Acting out like some angry toddler tyrant. Kylo was really hurt, Rey. And the pressures of his job were getting to him big time."

"Yikes."

"Yeah . . . it was bad. He eventually pulled himself together and reached a status quo. That's where he's been ever since. Not happy, but not sad. Before you and your boy showed up recently, Nestor was over there a few times a week checking on him. We were all worried about how alone he had become. All those girls over the years . . . well, don't kid yourself, Rey-he hasn't moved on. Not one ever meant a thing to him."

Rey digests this news.

"You moved on. I saw the intel file, Rey. Cade Biggs seems like a great guy. Do you get any contact with him and your family?"

Rey shakes her head. "No. Cade divorced me with the help of Kylo's lawyers. I'll never see Cade or the girls again, I think." This is a sore point because Rey knows she can't blame Kylo entirely for that. She looks away. "Frankly, I'm not certain they would want to see me even if Kylo allowed it."

"Oh, Rey, I'm so sorry." Cesi bites her lip. "I'm so, so sorry."

"My family is ruined now," Rey says the truth aloud now. "My stepdaughters were like real daughters to me. And Cade . . . well, they are all gone now. It's . . . hard."

"I'm responsible for this," Lady Flick confesses unhappily. "I was the one who spotted you in that video and that set things into motion. And Gods, I am so, so sorry, Rey."

"I don't blame you." Not anymore, at least. "Kylo was going to find us eventually," Rey sighs. She has come to believe that now. If history is any judge, the Force was never going to keep the Skywalker family apart forever. If it wasn't the Flicks to find her, someone else would have in time.

Cesi Flick looks terribly guilty. "Nestor debated for days about whether to tell Kylo. Ultimately, he did it for your boy. I know that sounds strange, but Nestor always wanted a boy. And it really bothered him that Kylo had a son he didn't know."

"At least Cade is alive." Rey is trying to look on the bright side. "I thought for sure Kylo would kill him. But he didn't. That surprised me."

Lady Flick makes a face. "It's not like Kylo hasn't had women over the years. Why should he begrudge you a husband? At least you limited yourself to one man in a marriage. Kylo sure didn't."

Rey thinks of poor Lady Cara now. "I met the last girl. Cesi, I felt so badly for her. She was very young and naive about life. And thoroughly convinced that just because she was young and beautiful, life would give her a happy ending. When I showed up, she was just beginning to realize that she was being used."

"That was Veers girl, right? She's not even twenty-one. Rey, I was livid when I heard about her. It's disgusting. I told Nestor that I didn't care if he is the Emperor, if Kylo takes one look at my girls, I will castrate him."

"I think Nestor might beat you to it," Rey observes.

"Yeah, it's not really a risk. Kylo only likes brunettes. There has been a parade of them in recent years." Cesi shoots Rey a candid look. "They are all different versions of a younger you, you know."

Yes, Rey has figured that out. "He made me get rid of the blonde," she says, reaching up to pull at her dark ponytail.

Her friend nods. "I see. I liked the blonde. You looked good as a blonde. Really good."

"He's so different now," Rey says, glancing over at Kylo again. She had met Kylo Ren long ago as her Jakku self. The man she remembers didn't much care how she styled her hair or what she wore. But apparently, that has changed. "He seems a lot less violent and a lot more controlling now. But I guess that's counts for maturing if you're a Sith."

The big screen in the stadium now flashes up a view of the Imperial suite. The cameras focus in on Emperor Ren, of course. Kylo dutifully nods his head and raises one gloved hand in acknowledgement to the crowd. Beside him, Senate Chancellor Flick gives a friendly politician's wave. Together they are the good cop and bad cop of the New Empire. The two most powerful men in the galaxy. Best friends and comrades in arms now for decades. And between them, hunched and looking very young but very impressed, sits Titus.

This is what her decision to hide her son would have cost him, Rey knows. A father, a mentor in the Force, and an Empire. Like it or not, her son's birthright is the galaxy. And while Rey has long known this, it comes home tonight as the crowd roars its enthusiasm for Emperor Ren. This glory might not be what Rey wants for herself, but it might be what Titus wants someday. Especially if Kylo is right and he is the Chosen One to bring balance to the Force.

Cesi Flick follows her eyes. "You're not . . . you know?" she whispers.

Rey isn't following. "What?" she asks.

"Sleeping with him."

"No!" Rey says this a little too loudly and Cesi's girls who are standing nearby taking selfies and posting them to the holonet all look over. "That's how I got in this position in the first place," Rey frowns. "I'm not doing that again."

"Good," Cesi approves. "Don't go there. For your sake and for his sake. We just have to get you out of that cell," Cesi starts strategizing. "Then we need to convince Kylo that you two can live like you are divorced. You know, some sort of custody arrangement for Titus. Something amicable and adult. None of this parading you around in chains and locking you in the basement. It's humiliating," Cesi says as her eyes sweep with disdain over Rey. She shakes her head and gestures to Rey's chains. "I mean, who does stuff like this?"

"A Sith," Rey answers dryly. A bitter, angry, rejected Sith. "Cesi, I already asked him for a divorce. His lawyers advised against it. And for some reason he likes to insist that we are married. It's . . . strange. Sometimes I worry it's like a fantasy for him."

"Wait-are you married? Like legally married?"

"No . . . I don't know . . . Back in the day, Kylo wanted to get married but we never did it. But months ago, I signed some papers when I agreed to the divorce from Cade. Now Kylo claims those papers mean we are married. I think it's mostly for Titus' sake. Kylo wants him to be born in wedlock," Rey explains. "Who knew he was so conventional?"

"He's the Emperor now. It matters how things look. He and Nestor take great pains these days about how things look." Cesi Flick keeps thinking aloud. "We just have to find a way to get you out of that cell . . . "

"Little by little, he's getting more lenient. This is the second time he's let me out," Rey reveals. "If he lets me out enough, maybe it won't be so bad . . . "

Cesi looks alarmed now. "Are you listening to yourself, Renata Pam? Because the girl who dented Kylo Ren's helmet and insisted that the Empire have basic civil rights isn't a woman who would rationalize her way to happiness living in a cell."

"At least this way I get to see my son every day," Rey says weakly. She's lost so much in the past few months that she's determined to hang on to what matters most.

Cesi looks a bit devious now. With a furtive glance to make sure her girls can't overhear, Lady Flick leans in. "Look, I don't want to offend you. But maybe if you did sleep with him, he would let you out."

"No! I'm not doing that! I'm definitely not doing that." Rey had offered to do that in exchange for her son leaving freely with Cade. But that was not a blanket offer. And besides, Kylo had rejected her. "Cesi, part of me will always love Kylo. But I don't want to go back to the way things were. I don't think Kylo wants that either. In fact, I know he doesn't want that." Kylo hadn't seemed the least bit interested, to be honest.

Lady Flick raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because you haven't stopped glancing over at him all night."

It's true. Rey is hyper aware of Kylo whenever he is in the room. But she brushes off the comment. "I'm just checking on Titus. And, yes, I'm sure. I'm focused on my son now. If I want to have Titus in my life, I'm going to have to find a way to get along with Kylo. And if that means living in a cell, so be it." Lady Flick clearly disagrees, probably because she doesn't really understand. "Cesi," Rey whispers, "don't you see? Titus is all I have left."

The race is starting now and Rey and Cesi move closer to watch. They and the rest of the group are standing at the front of the suite watching as the racers line up. The Emperor is his usual reserved public self, standing feet spread and arms crossed in the power pose of the old Knights of Ren he used to lead. But everyone else gets into the action cheering for the exciting photo finish ending.

In the end, Titus picks the winner. "You knew that would happen," Rey happily accuses. "And it wasn't all your stats and analysis."

"Yeah," he admits with a grin. "I saw it in a vision."

"That's my boy," Kylo laughs as he claps the kid hard on the shoulder.

The cameras don't catch that moment. But they do catch old Vanee doing a bizarre high five with the mysterious woman in handcuffs the palace later refuses to comment on. And there are some adorably awkward paparazzi shots of the unnamed boy talking earnestly to the middle Flick girl while in the background Lady Flick grins and Chancellor Flick glowers protectively.

* * *

"Why does she have to go back in there?" the kid whines as their little family troops as a group down to Rey's cell. It's a slow procession along dingy, institutional looking corridors. Rey can't move very fast when she is this tightly tethered. She takes two steps for each one of his own long strides. That has forced Kylo to match her mincing gate. If this takes much longer, Kylo thinks, he's just going to throw Rey over his shoulder and stomp with her back to the cell. Emperor Ren is not a patient man.

"Does she have to go back in there?" Titus keeps up his pestering.

"Yes. Don't whine. Sith don't whine." This is the second time he and Titus have had this exchange in the last ten minutes. If there is a third time, Kylo will be tempted to bust out the lightning.

Rey speaks up now. "It's okay, Titus. It will be okay. We're almost there anyway." She smiles over at their son. Rey looks genuinely happy, Kylo notes. Everything about her looks brighter and more alive when she is happy. An evening out had done her some good. "I had fun," she tells Titus. "Tonight was lots of fun."

"Yeah, it was fun," Kylo speaks his own thoughts aloud. "I haven't attended a pod race in years."

"Why can't we be like a normal family?" The kid keeps complaining as they approach the small detention area and the officer and guards on duty snap to attention. He and Rey ignore them and Titus whines again, "Why can't we be like a normal family? Where no one tries to kill anyone? Where no one is locked in the basement?"

"Kid, we're the Skywalkers," Kylo reminds him. Enough said.

Rey sighs, "I never tried to kill your father. Not really."

"You cut my hand off," he retorts. But not with any real heat. This is an argument they have rehearsed many times before.

"Don't start, Kylo," Rey says mildly. "This is good. Don't ruin it." She turns now to their son. "Look, it's okay, Titus. I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow. Bring your datapad and we'll watch the race highlights. I want a better look at that last wreck. It's kind of amazing that guy lived to walk away from it."

"Yeah, okay," her boy reluctantly agrees.

"Hey, don't be like that," Rey cajoles him. "Maybe someday, you are I will build a pod racer together. I've always wanted to design a pod racer."

"You'd be good at that," Kylo thinks aloud.

"We'll never do that," Titus gripes. "Not when you're stuck here. They won't let you have a blanket, let alone a set of tools. Mom, you're skinny enough that you could be through the ventilation shaft in five minutes if you had tools."

"Yeah, I could. But I'm not leaving you, Titus. You know that. I'll always be here for you."

"In a cell," the boy says bitterly.

"Come here, give me a hug," she urges and the boy complies. "Now go on, tonight's a school night. It's late."

"Alright."

He and Rey together watch as the boy lopes away. "He's a good kid," she says softly.

Kylo nods. "He just needed some motivation. And an outlet for his aggression beyond sports."

"Don't tell me," Rey waves him off. "I don't want to know what Dark Sith stuff you're having him do. But whatever you're doing, it's working."

"He'll make a good Sith someday." Kylo looks down and gestures at Rey's restraints. "You want those off?"

"Yes, but I have to be inside for that. Otherwise, I might make a run for it." Rey walks over to stand before her cell door. "Tom, will you open up?" she asks. And the detention officer—evidently named Tom-opens the cell for Rey to step in.

Kylo follows. He's not yet ready for this night to be over. So he stands there watching as Tom the jailor employs a digital key to open the lock on her foot restraints and starts removing the shackles. Through it all, a guard has a cocked blaster held to Rey's head. Finished with the foot restraints, the jailer stands and departs for a moment.

"This is kind of elaborate," Kylo remarks as he observes. He's lingering, he knows. But this had been fun. He needs more fun like tonight in his life. And besides, there's nothing upstairs waiting for him but more work.

"There's a separate locking mechanism for the hand restraints. That way, I have to manage to steal two keys," Rey explains matter-of-fact. All in all, except for that crying moment after the soccer game, Rey seems to be taking all this hardship on stride. But she's Rey of Jakku, so Kylo is not surprised. This woman can handle pretty much anything that comes her way. "It's all for your protection," Rey tells him with an amused look. "I'm the dangerous wife who you claim tried to kill you."

"You couldn't kill me."

"Yeah?" Rey laughs at this. "Is that a challenge? How do you know I haven't been spending all my free time in here perfecting my Vader choke?"

"Have you?" Kylo smirks. "Well, let's see it? Kill this guy." He points to the trooper at Rey's side.

"He's got a gun to my head."

"You did just admit you were dangerous." Kylo smiles at her now. "Tonight was fun, Rey. It's been awhile since I've gone out for something that wasn't ceremonial."

"You don't go out incognito anymore?" she asks, sounding surprised. "You and Nestor used to do that all the time."

"Nestor's far too famous now. I can't go out with him. And he's the only guy I would want to go out with."

Rey's eyes twinkle up at him. Yes, she's still in a good mood too. "Remember when Nestor dyed his hair dark to go to Canto Bight? That was right after those peace talks first put him all over the holonet," she recalls.

Gods, it's been a long while since he thought about that trip. It makes Kylo smile. "That asshole looked ridiculous in his disguise. It was as jarring as seeing you with blonde hair, Rey. I hated that blonde hair. What's taking so long?" Impatient, Kylo stalks out the door and nearly into the returning jailor. He grabs the key from the man and waves the guard with a gun to Rey's head from the room. "I've got this."

"But, Sir, she's dangerous. She could grab your sword and-"

"Agreed. I'll take the risk." Kylo shoos the men out the door and closes it. Then he turns back to Rey with the key. "How does this work exactly?"

"Hand it over."

Kylo complies. It's probably a huge security breach for the prisoner herself to unlock her chains but whatever. He watches as Rey seats herself on the shelf against the far wall the serves as her chair and bed. She busies herself fiddling with the key.

This should be weird, he thinks. Hanging out in Rey's cell watching her unlock her chains. But it's not. It feels surprising normal. And that's probably a sad statement on how fucked up his family is. He had wanted things to be different for he and Rey. But they're not. And so, he has a wholesome family outing with his wife and kid, only afterwards his wife is in chains living in a basement cell. And his poor befuddled kid doesn't understand any of it. And, really, Kylo doesn't get it much either and he's the cause.

While Rey works away, Kylo's eyes fall on her contraband pillow. Atop it is Titus' soccer jersey, looking clean and neatly folded. The thought crosses Kylo's mind that maybe the pillow plus her shirt plus the kid's shirt might be long enough to be dangerous after all. He frowns. "You're not going to try anything with that pillow and shirt, are you?" he asks.

"You mean like a pillow fight with the guards?" Rey laughs.

But he's serious. "No. Like something stupid. Like hanging yourself." Rey wouldn't do that. Would she?

"Drat." Rey drops the key. As he retrieves it, Rey points up, "Take a look. There's no place overhead to tie a rope to. The only choice is the showerhead. But it isn't high enough and it probably wouldn't hold my weight."

"So you've thought about it?" He's alarmed. Really alarmed.

"It's boring in here, Kylo," she tells him plainly. "I have thought about everything. I have memorized this place."

"Yeah. I could see that. How about I tell Vanee to come by more often? I'll tell Milo to come by too. He's waiting for express approval, I think." Rey is still awkwardly fiddling with the key and her restraints. "Want some help with that?" he offers.

"Yeah, I guess," Rey admits defeat. "I think this was intentionally designed to make it hard for the person wearing the cuffs to use the key." She stands to hold out her wrists and the key. "Kylo," she tells him, looking up. "Kylo, I'm a survivor. I survived Jakku and the war. I'll survive you too."

"Is that a promise?" he asks softly, ignoring the offered key. He's focused on Rey now. Reaching a gloved hand up to smooth back a strand of hair that has come loose from her ponytail. And what the Hell is he doing? He drops his hand.

Rey pretends not to notice. "Sure, why not?" she shrugs. "I'll be the crazy homicidal wife locked in the basement until we're gray and old."

"We're not old, but we're sure not kids anymore, Rey." Kylo looks her over, seeing how tired and wan she looks these days. She is a shadow of her former self he met looking so beautiful in her white party dress. "This was never how I wanted things to be," he confesses.

She sighs and looks away. "Yeah, well, this isn't my preferred solution either."

"You can't go back to Biggs. He's moved on."

"I know." Rey makes a face and he can see that reminder has stung. "Thank you for sparing Cade's life," she grumbles out. "I honestly didn't expect you to do that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. The Kylo I remember would have lit his sword and taken his head off."

"Sorry to disappoint you," the Sith smirks. "I guess I've mellowed."

She gives him a measuring look now and decides, "No, you haven't mellowed. You've just changed your tactics."

After all these years estranged, Rey still knows him well, Kylo realizes. So he levels with her. "An Emperor can't kill people left and right in public. And I like upending people's expectations now and then. It keeps everyone guessing," he explains.

"Right." Rey rattles her chains at him. "Well, get on with it."

He complies, unlocking her hand restraints. He starts unwinding the elaborate chain cord that begins at the handcuffs, circles her waist, circles her neck, and then connects to the now discarded foot restraints.

"It threads through the neck on my shirt," she explains as Kylo rummages around. "Down my back."

"Yeah, I see." Kylo steps behind her to pull back the collar and grab for the cord. "No bra?" He peers at her bare back.

"It's pretty no frills around here."

"If I'd known that, I would have unwound this from the front," he grins.

"That's how the morning shift guy likes to do it," Rey sighs.

"Seriously?" Kylo stops what he's doing.

"Yeah. It's humiliating," she admits. "But I can't go up to breakfast until he's through."

"Rey, I'm sorry." The words slip out. "How about I kill him for you?" he offers. And he's serious. Because if anyone is going to ogle his wife's breasts, it is him. And what the fuck is that guy thinking that he dares to covet a Sith's wife? She might have been the Empress, for Gods' sake.

"How about instead Vanee just brings me a bra?" His Rey of Light suggests the nonviolent alternative, of course. "And when he's at it, maybe some panties too?"

"Panties?" Kylo echoes. He frowns and pulls at the loose waistband of her pants and peeks in.

"Hey!" Rey objects as she scoots back.

"You have no panties on? Are all my prisoners commando?" he wonders aloud. "I had no idea." And actually, for most of them, that's kind of gross.

"Apparently, I might hang myself with a bra and panties," Rey complains. "I wish everyone would stop worrying that I'm going to hang myself. I'm not going to hang myself."

"And there's no place to tie them to-"

"Yes."

"Wow, all this time at breakfast you have been braless and commando? Rey, that's hot." Oh, wait, he probably shouldn't have said that.

"Actually, it's cold," she counters. "It gets really cold here without a blanket. Those mittens and socks Vanee gave me only help a little."

Yeah, he can see how miserable her existence is. "I'm sorry, Rey." The words slip out again.

"If we're done discussing my underwear, can you finish?" The happy mood is gone now. Rey's expression is sour and she looks embarrassed. "Don't you have some Snoke girl waiting upstairs for you?" she snaps.

"No. Milo is dragging his feet about finding a new one. And I haven't pressed him." Kylo doesn't always keep one. Sometimes he goes a month or two without one.

"What do you even say to those young girls?" Rey wonders. "Do you have anything in common?"

"We don't do much talking," he admits. "That's kind of the point. There's no effort involved."

"So . . . it's just sex and someone saying 'Your Excellency' all the time? Isn't that sort of empty?"

"That's also the point."

"Wow, that's creepy," Rey decides. "And kind of sad. I thought the point was to audition them as a potential wife."

Now Kylo is the one with the sour face. He doesn't want her condescending pity. And it's strange to be talking about this topic with Rey of all people. "Look, I don't want to get emotionally involved." He's not Rey who moved on immediately to marry some guy and create her perfect life as the perfect wife with the perfect family. To the contrary, in the aftermath of Rey, nothing has been perfect in Kylo's life. "Look, I got emotionally involved with you. And look how well that turned out." He finishes with her restraints and drops them in a pile on the floor. "Done."

"Thanks." Clearly glad to be free of her chains, Rey stretches a bit and then sits down. "You know, Kylo," Rey gives him a mischievous look. "There's another cell next door. You can move wife number two in there when you're done with her. Then I'd have a cell buddy."

"It might get crowded at breakfast," Kylo points out as he sits down beside her on the bench. He leans back to tip his head against the wall. Rey does the same.

"So was tonight more normal?" he asks. "You said Titus needs things to be more normal."

"Yeah. It was normal," she approves. "This is the fun of a family. Doing things together. Being together." Rey looks over to meet his eyes. "Kylo, I want to make this as easy on Titus as possible. He didn't ask for any of our drama. That kid is far more sensitive than he lets on."

Kylo considers. "Yeah, I could see that."

"You should," she gives him a pointed look. "Because you're like that." Rey settles back against the wall now. "You know, it's a little humbling as a mom to realize how much kids inherit from their family. Some days, it feels like there is far more nature than nurture in parenting."

"I wouldn't know. I'm new to this parent thing." And Kylo is starting to suspect that he's not very good at it. Not as good as Rey is, at least.

"It's a lot harder than it looks," she admits softly. "You know what not to do. But it's not always clear what to do. And Titus isn't exactly an easy kid." She gives a little wry sigh now. "It used to freak me out to see your expressions on his face. To see your mannerisms in him. Titus looked more like me when he was younger. But as he grows, he is more and more you. Inside and out." Rey slumps forward now to rest her chin in her hand. "I hope all this will be for the best in the long run for Titus."

This isn't angry Rey or sad Rey. It's more like resigned and reflective Rey. And Kylo can relate. He reaches over to lay a comforting hand on her back. That's a safe thing to do, he figures. She looks up to him in surprise, but he keeps his hand resting there on her back. It's bony now, he notices, even for her.

"I was wrong to keep Titus from you," Rey admits quietly. She sits up now and his hand slides down and now it's resting loosely around her waist. But it's okay. It feels natural. "But as time passed, I couldn't see a way to tell you without ending up here," she gestures around the cell. "Or worse," she adds bitterly. Rey turns to him now. "And I worried what it would do to Titus to learn the truth. I feared he might hate me. That I would lose him."

Kylo shakes his head. "No worries there, Rey. The kid is definitely on Team Mom." He leans into her now. "Even I can't hate you, Rey, and you gave me a new hand." To demonstrate that point, he gathers her close with his artificial right hand. It's sort of an impromptu sideways hug.

"Kylo, I-" Rey looks up and falters.

"Yes?" His face is inches from hers now. Suddenly the mood shifts.

"I'm sorry," she whispers as she finds his eyes. "Sorry about the hand. About Titus. But after all that happened, there was no way to fix things . . . "

He can feel her sincerity as Rey's words resonate as truth in the Force. But they don't quite register with him. Because Kylo can't stop staring at her. His eyes drop and now he is staring at her mouth. It's inches away. Just inches.

Kylo closes his eyes.

"Kylo-" she breathes out. Her voice is soft and he can feel her breath on his cheek. Warm and gentle. And, oh, fuck, this is not what he intended.

"I should be going." Kylo abruptly pulls back and stands to his feet. In seconds, he's clear across her small cell. Because this woman is indeed dangerous for him. Just not in the way the guards fear.

"Yeah." Rey's face is inscrutable. Suddenly, things are awkward. "Yeah. Thanks again for tonight."

"We'll do it again some time," he decides, still looking away. Kylo is forcing himself to look away. Because in three paces he could grab her and have her up against that wall and . . . And that's not happening. He won't make the same mistake twice. "It was fun. It was lots of fun," he mutters.

She's looking away now too. "Yeah. It was fun. See you at breakfast."

"See you at breakfast."


	17. Chapter 17

Kylo had almost kissed her. Rey is certain of it. And what's more, she had wanted it. When Kylo had pulled back, she had been disappointed. And then when he had practically leapt across the room to get away from her, Rey had felt inexplicably hurt. Very rejected.

And that's ridiculous. Because this is the man who had tried to kill her.

Has she been lulled back into this attraction by a single fun evening out of her cell? Or maybe by the first honest conversation between them that wasn't filled with snark and conflict?

Whatever the reason, it is deeply unsettling. Deeply unsettling. Because Kylo is the worst sort of man. Violent, obsessive, possessive, and vengeful. Verging on unstable at times. With depressive tendencies at odds with his persistent megalomania. He ruins her family. He keeps her a prisoner. He drags her son down into his Darkness. Rey had run from him once and nearly paid for it with her life. So . . . what the Hell was she thinking?

She wasn't thinking, Rey realizes. She was feeling. Lost in a pair of dark eyes that sometimes seem to glitter with intensity. Drawn in by the sardonic half-smile smirk that is as disconcertingly sexy as it is irritating. Charmed again by the brooding Sith who had for one night actually seemed happy.

Is this her loneliness overcoming her better judgement? Is this nostalgia for a past she left behind years ago? Is this wishful thinking for the intact family she never got a chance to have? Whatever this is, it is stupid, Rey decides. Because that part of her life with Kylo was over many years ago. She and Kylo need to be parents now, not lovers. Rey stays awake late into the night worrying over it. In the end, she resolves to put that single moment of weirdness behind her. She's hoping Kylo will do the same.

The next morning, everything is routine except that the usual officer on duty has been replaced. Rey asks where he is and no one seems to know. And that has her worried. Has her grumbling last night had repercussions? She will have to be more careful, Rey tells herself. She doesn't want her offhand comment to Kylo to cost anyone their life. She knows that Kylo had been serious last night in his offer to kill the morning guard.

But aside from the change in guard, everything else is the same as usual at breakfast. Kylo has his nose in his datapad. He hasn't more than glanced her way. Rey can't decide if she's relieved by this or not.

She decides to ignore it. So as Kylo keeps downing cups of caf, she, Milo, Vanee, and Titus relive last night's pod race in detail. No one can recall a closer finish or a more exciting race. Lord Vader would have loved it, Vanee sighs aloud.

Then, everyone goes over their daily agenda. Kylo and Milo are meeting later today with the First Order party leaders in anticipation of the imminent Senate elections. Every three years, one-third of the Senate is up for reelection. Most of the contested Senate seats this time around are safely in First Order loyalist hands. The issue is not whether Kylo's preferred candidates will win, but by how large a margin. Bored Rey tunes out much of this talk. She's never been much for politics. She hadn't even realized that they were on the eve of an election. Next, Vanee reports that he is continuing the Empire Day preparations. He has meetings with Lady Flick and with the PR staff today. Titus reports that he has his first playoff soccer game after school.

"Mom, what will you be doing?" Titus asks as a rather deliberate provocation to his father. He's still angry about Kylo returning her to the cell last night.

"Oh, the usual," Rey responds airily. "Just chilling in my cell." She always makes light of the situation before their son. But that doesn't mean that Rey is happy about it. More that she's coming to accept it. And she is determined now to make things as amicable as possible in front of Titus. She doesn't want her son caught between his two warring parents.

"Okay. Then why don't you come to my soccer game tonight?" her son asks hopefully. He's looking to his father as he asks the question. "It's a playoff game."

Kylo shoots him down. "Last night was the exception, Titus. Not the rule." Emperor Ren drawls out his answer without bothering to look up.

"So what is the rule on when Mom gets let out?" Titus demands, his tone now heated and his young face hard. "Because I want to know."

"There is no rule. Your mother's care is in my discretion," Kylo replies evenly. "I have the power, so I make the rules. I also decide when to bend and to break the rules. Power is what matters most," quotes the Sith. Kylo looks up from his datapad now to meet his boy's eyes. "Remember that. Power is always the goal. And it is usually the means as well."

"I will be there, my boy." Milo is the one to break the tense silence that follows. Sullen Titus is now glaring at his father. "I wouldn't miss it. Together, we can tell your mother all about it tomorrow at breakfast."

Titus nods and swallows hard. Disappointment is written all over his face. "Thanks, Milo."

And Rey just aches for her son in that moment. She meets his eyes and smiles a little to reassure him. It doesn't work. Titus scowls, his face a picture of his father in that moment. It's almost scary because Rey knows that expression well. It is intense anger, focused and channeled deep. Very Dark. Very Sith.

"Power is what matters," Titus says slowly. Grimly. And with a maturity far beyond his meager years. "Lesson learned, Master." The boy shoots to his feet and storms from the room.

"Titus!" Dismayed, Rey now stands too, staring after him. "Wait!" she can't keep up with him in these chains.

Kylo waves a hand to dismiss her concern. "Let him go, Rey. He can get his frustrations out on the soccer field tonight."

That leaves Rey to stare at her son's retreating form. So much for normalcy, she thinks to herself. Their brief evening of fun is over and they are back to their usual drama. All the promise of last night has evaporated in the bright light of day. And now, Rey is very, very glad that she did not kiss Kylo Ren.

Chin in the air, Rey stomps off as best as she can under the circumstances.

"Where are you going?" Kylo calls after her, sounding exasperated. "Rey, you are not dismissed."

She ignores him.

Later that day when Vanee visits, he brings her a blanket. "Does Kylo know you are bringing me this?" Rey asks with a raised eyebrow. She's concerned. "I don't want you to get in trouble. Kylo and everyone else around here seem very concerned that I'm going to hang myself. Vanee, I am not going to hang myself. But Tom and the rest of the guys don't believe that. And so this could get you in real trouble." Rey looks longingly now at the fluffy blanket. She sighs. "This isn't like a plant, you know."

"Princess, the blanket comes with the Master's . . . ah . . . compliments." Vanee won't meet her eyes, she notices. The old man looks almost embarrassed.

"Er . . . what?"

"I have the Master's permission." Rey shoots him a skeptical look and old Vanee fesses up. "Ah, well, Princess, I was found out early on. I am not much for subterfuge, my dear. That's Milo's talent, not mine. The Master has known for some time about our visits. Please take it, my dear," he offers the blanket again. "The Master wants you to have it."

Is this a peace offering after the ugly scene at breakfast? If so, Rey wonders whether she accept it. But the blanket looks so warm, soft and snuggly. There's no way Rey is turning this down. "Then, thank you, Vanee." She accepts it gratefully. "And, please, give my thanks to Kylo as well."

"Of course, Princess."

After Vanee departs, Rey shakes out her blanket. Out from the folds of the fabric tumble a lacy bra and panties. Black, of course. It makes her smile. Rey holds them up. The bra looks like it will fit. And the panties? They look skimpy. Rey looks again and realizes that the panties are a thong. She rolls her eyes. How very Kylo. Some things never change.

* * *

Rey had almost kissed him. Kylo is certain of it. And what's more, he had wanted it. But after a foolish moment with his lips close to hers and his eyes closed, reason had prevailed. He had pulled back. And then he had practically leapt across the room to get away from her. Feeling disappointed all the same.

And that's ridiculous. Because this is the woman who had broken his heart and cut his hand off.

Has he been lulled back into this fantasy by a single fun evening out with Rey and his son? Or maybe by the first honest conversation between them that wasn't filled with accusations and bitterness?

Whatever the reason, it is deeply unsettling to Kylo. Deeply unsettling. Because Rey is the worst sort of woman. Faithless, fickle and emotionally unavailable to anyone but their son. Deeply damaged by her life of deprivation. Rey leaves a string of broken hearts in her wake, from Hux to him to Cade Biggs. She cuts off his hand. She dashes his plans for marriage and a family. She ruins his dream of balance and steals his son. Rey has rejected him time and time again. Long ago, he had decided he would never again let her hurt him. So . . . what the Hell was he thinking?

He wasn't thinking, Kylo knows. He was feeling. Lost in her natural beauty that even a prison uniform and chains cannot hide. Drawn in, as always, by the promise of her beguiling Light. Intrigued by her confession that she had indeed loved him once long ago.

Is this his loneliness overcoming his better judgement? Is this nostalgia for a past he left behind years ago? Is this wishful thinking for the intact Skywalker family he never got a chance to have? Whatever this is, it is dangerous, Kylo decides. Because his chance with Rey was over many years ago. He and Rey need to be parents now, not lovers. Since that night when Nestor had spilled his secret, Kylo's focus has been on Titus, not Rey. Kylo stays awake late into the night obsessing over the meaning of it all. In the end, he resolves to put that single moment of weakness behind him. It's necessary for self-preservation.

And then, overzealous in his commitment to resist Rey, things had gone badly this morning. Breakfast had not been his best moment. First his boy had stormed out and then Rey. For mother and son are inextricably linked, he now knows. Keeping Titus happy means he has to keep Rey reasonably happyish. So he had summoned Vanee for some instructions and then told Milo to clear his schedule for later today. And that's how Kylo Ren, Sith Master and Emperor of the galaxy, had ended up sitting alone anonymous and incognito on the bleachers of a middle school soccer game.

He is sitting behind two moms who are as Upper Level as women come in appearance, attitudes and entitlement. The pair are jabbering so loudly that he can't help listening in. Especially when they begin discussing his kid.

 _That new kid is really good._ _Does he play year-round?_

 _I don't know._ _Maybe._

 _What's his name again?_

 _Titus._ _Titus Solo._

 _Solo._ _I don't know anyone named Solo._ _Should I?_ _Who are his parents?_ _Are they here?_

 _I think that's his grandfather over there by the sidelines._ _The guy in black who looks like Wilhulf Tarkin._ _He's like me-he never misses a game._

 _Solo._ _I don't know anyone named Solo._ _Really, this place is falling down a bit._ _They're letting anyone in these days._ _I guess this Titus kid was one of the athletic admissions._ _He looks fully human, so he can't be a diversity pick._

 _That kid is the reason the team is in the playoffs, you know._ _Let's be glad he's here._ _And actually, I think the grandfather works at the palace._ _He's definitely someone._ _Watch after the game._ _Grandpa whisks him away in an unmarked black speeder that is armored._ _My husband saw it and said it had recessed gun turrets on the sides._ _I asked if that meant the family had private security but he said it looked too military._ _And there's no plates on the back._ _Only palace transports fly like that._

 _The palace?_ _Really?_ _Are you sure he's not some spice kingpin's kid?_

 _Maybe._ _For kicks, I googled a bit on the holonet._ _Nothing._ _There was nothing._

 _That sounds sketchy to me._ _Hey, over here, Jynna!_ _Jynna knows everything._ _If there is scoop, she'll know._

 _Hey girls, what's new?_ _What did I miss?_

 _We're tied._ _The new kid just scored the tying goal._ _Titus Solo._ _Who's his family?_ _Do you know?_

 _You haven't heard?_ _Oooooo, I thought you knew._ _Everyone knows._ _Oh, girls, this is good._ _My friend Ruth's youngest is in the same class as Titus and she was up here waiting for her fall conference when up comes Mrs. Solo._ _She was . . . wait for it . . . in chains._

 _What?_

 _C-Chains?_

 _Yes._ _Orange prison suit, handcuffs, guards, the whole works._ _Ruth said she looked like she had just come off a chain gang at a work camp._

 _Wow._ _Good Gods, they really do let anyone in here nowadays._ _This school used to be only nice families._

 _The school is really tight lipped about it._ _No one will say a thing._

 _Wow._ _Poor kid._ _A mom in prison._ _Geez, that's so Rim._

 _Worse than Rim._ _Outer Rim._

 _Well, there must be a dad around._ _Someone is paying the school fees._ _And there's the grandpa over there._

 _Still . . . that's so sad._ _Poor kid._

The women's prattle goes on and on and turns from the soccer game to a discussion of clothes and shoes, who is chairing what gala this year, and when camp registration is due. Bored with eavesdropping, Kylo watches the game.

His kid is good. Surprisingly agile for all his adolescent gawkiness. Not as fast as some, but skilled in his footwork and his quick pivots and turns. Once Titus gets the ball, he knows how to evade the faster kids who run him down. That's impressive. Once he gets a sword in this boy's hand, those talents will come in handy, Kylo thinks.

The other kids seem to like him too. Even from afar, Kylo catches the friendly looks, cheers, and high fives the rest of the teammates give Titus. Being personally well liked is a talent Kylo himself has never managed to develop. Nestor has this, he knows, and it matters. It's easier to lead when people want to follow you, Kylo knows. And it helps if fear is not the primary motivator. Watching his little princeling, a small part of Kylo feels jealous of this experience for his son. For Kylo himself had never been well liked by his peers. And he had never played on a team to learn these group dynamics at a tender age. To absorb the skills necessary to be viewed as a natural leader. To learn to establish authority by merit and acclaim rather than violence.

Snoke had given the younger Kylo Ren a group of knights and some limited authority and turned him loose on the galaxy. And so, his initial years were spent proving himself amid constant animosity with Hux and others in the First Order chain of command. More often than not, the young Sith had resorted to violence to establish his place and to enforce his will. It had given Kylo Ren a brutish reputation long before the Mid Rim campaign. These days, however, Kylo likes to use his violence sparingly for maximum effect. In maturity, he appreciates that having people consent to your leadership is far preferable to forcing people to accept you. Having done the latter during the war years, Kylo has spent the last decade attempting to achieve the former. But after years of effort, the galaxy still fears Kylo Ren, and they do not love him. Kylo wonders now as he watches his young son receive friendly smiles all around whether Titus might manage to be the first Sith Emperor to be loved. That would be quite a coup.

Maybe there is more benefit to this soccer team than he had previously thought, Kylo decides.

But there is one kid on the team who is clearly not a Titus fan. Kylo watches amused as the boy intentionally bumps shoulders hard as he is substituted in by the coach for Titus. The look the two boys exchange is cold even from this distance. The coach gives Titus a breather for a few minutes before he puts him back in. The shoulder bump repeats when Titus is substituted back in the game for his replacement. Only this time the shoulder bump is more like a shove. Words are exchanged and now it's a fight. Titus launches himself at the other kid and they both go down hard.

Whistles blow and the game stops. The bench empties as the rest of the team and the coaches hit the field to break it up.

Kylo simply watches from afar. The scuffle is brief, but decisive. Titus is the taller of the two boys but the skinnier. But he is the aggressor with the benefit of surprise. Plus, he has all that Skywalker determination on his side. The dark set to his brow and the clench of his jaw tell Kylo that his son means business. And, all in all, for a kid who has only recently begun to learn hand to hand combat, Titus shuts this down in about five moves, dominating the entire time. It takes the coach and another dad to pull Titus off the other boy. The other boy's mother is screaming now and the father looks livid. It's definitely a scene. Half the bleachers full of spectators have stood up to get a better look.

Kylo stands too but hangs back to watch how his kid will handle this. Conflict is a Sith's default setting, after all. Titus shakes off the two men who have dragged him back. He stands there glowering as the referee takes over. Kylo is too far away to hear the words that are said. But the body language is clear as the ref jabs an emphatic thumb in the direction of the sidelines: Titus is ejected from the game. The school coach looks pissed, the opponents' coach looks pleased, and Titus just shrugs and mouths off something that earns an unintelligible response from the other kid's visibly angry father.

Milo has walked over now to intercept Titus. The old man's quiet calm appears to put a much-needed damper on the situation. Milo speaks to Titus and the kid heads to retrieve his water bottle and bag. As he heads off, Milo speaks briefly to the other kid's parents and shakes the hand of both coaches and the referee. Then Milo and Titus head off and the game resumes.

Kylo is waiting for them both at the speeder.

"Good evening, Master," Milo's greeting is low key as always. He, of course, had known that Kylo was here.

But Titus had not. "You? You were here?" Titus looks surprised, then pleased, then a little afraid. "O-Ohhhh," his voice fades.

"Yes."

The kid starts in quickly with excuses. "He started it."

And Kylo really could care less about who started it. He wants to know the reason. For a Sith must always have a reason for violence, old Snoke had taught him long ago. "What was the fight about?"

"Nothing."

"You got yourself kicked out of a playoff game."

"It was nothing!"

"Violence is a tool, not an end to itself. Make your point and then stop. It is not always necessary or appropriate to kill."

"I wasn't going to kill him." The boy's voice has an edge to it. "I'm not a murderer. I'm not you!"

Milo speaks up now. "Master, the coach said to expect a call from the principal tomorrow."

The kid rolls his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. There will be a call and then a conference and then a suspension. I know how this goes. Let's go."

"You still haven't told me what it was about." Kylo wants an answer.

And now his son explodes in anger. This is misplaced aggression intended for the other kid and now focused on him, Kylo knows. "I said it was nothing! He was jealous, alright? He used to be their best player until I came along. And now I start in his position and I play longer. He doesn't like being second string, okay?" Titus looks away. "That fucker is always talking trash. It gets under my skin."

And there is Kylo's opening to make this a teachable moment. Determined to do this parenting thing right, Kylo patiently shares some wisdom. "Kid, a Sith needs a thick skin. Because you can't rule the galaxy without tolerating some dissent. And there will be plenty of haters, trust me. Make an example now and then, if you must. But for the most part, ignore them. Let who you are and what you do-on the soccer field or in life-speak for itself."

"Yeah?" Titus looks up resentfully. "That must be good advice because you sound like Dad."

Kylo smirks. "I doubt that. Because Cade Biggs probably wouldn't tell you that next time you should throw the punch before you tackle. Get your opponent reeling before you get them to the ground. Titus, when you fight, fight to win. Once you have the upper hand, you get to decide when it's over."

"Oh." The boy nods slowly. "Okay. Can we not tell Mom? I don't want to tell Mom."

That makes Kylo laugh out loud. "More afraid of her than of me?"

The kid looks away. "I just don't want to tell Mom. She doesn't like fighting."

Kylo raises an eyebrow. His gut tells him that this isn't the whole truth. So he presses. "Don't you think your mother would want to be at this school conference you're expecting? There is precedent for that sort of thing. Perhaps your mother would like another field trip from her cell." Kylo intentionally dangles the hope of letting Rey out of her cell to see if his son will take the bait.

"No!" The boy's vehemence has Kylo suspicious now. "If you don't tell her, she won't know to ask. Milo can go."

Kylo looks carefully at his son, both seeing and sensing his deep concern. "Fine. Then I will go."

Titus looks shocked at this. Milo too.

And so, a conspiracy is formed. It turns out that the soccer game is won even without Titus' participation. The boy Titus tackled ends up scoring the winning goal. And the next morning, the report to Rey at breakfast is truthful despite its material omissions. She is none the wiser for what has transpired.

Kylo considers this something of a bonding moment with his son.

Later that day, Kylo Ren appears at school for the conference that has been hastily arranged. He does not arrive as his incognito self. He arrives as Emperor Ren in full regalia with a quartet of red robed Imperial guards and a full squad of troopers marching in his wake like during the war years. Just to make certain his entrance has maximum effect, Kylo is five minutes late. Jaws drop to the floor at his approach and then so do the people.

Emperor Ren is instantly shown to the headmaster's office. The soccer coach is there waiting with Titus. So are the other kid and his angry parents. No doubt the adults have been expecting another appearance by Mrs. Solo in chains. No one has been expecting this. Even Titus' eyes are huge.

"Your Excellency!" Once again, everyone shoots to their feet and then falls to their knees.

"Leave us," he commands to his guards. Then he bids everyone else to arise. Looking around now, Kylo thinks that principals' offices haven't changed much through the years. He remembers being in quite a few himself back in the day. Hearing a lot of lectures about wasted potential and missed opportunities. It's sort of gratifying for Kylo to be here now years later as his full Sith Emperor self. So, just to up the shock value, Kylo yanks off his helmet to reveal his secret face. Then, he calmly seats himself in an open chair.

"Get on with it," he waves an impatient gloved hand at the terrified looking headmaster.

The man takes a deep breath. "There was an altercation at the soccer game last night," he begins shakily. "Titus here was provoked by unkind words. But he threw the first punch to start the violence."

"Well?" Kylo drawls, sounding as bored as he can. "Is there still a problem?"

"N-No, there is n-no problem," the father of the other kid croaks out. "N-No problem at all, your Excellency."

"Is that so?" Kylo raises an eyebrow and looks squarely at the other kid.

"Why are you here?" the boy asks plainly as his father visibly kicks him. The kid is chastised. "I mean, no. N-No, there is no problem." The father kicks him again harder. "Owww! Dad! Uhm . . . there is no problem at all, your Excellency . . . Sir."

Kylo has to fight the urge to laugh at this automatic toadying. "I am here because I am Titus' father," Kylo answers the boy's question. Then his eyes travel the room to briefly hold the gaze of each adult. "Has this issue been settled now between the boys? There will be no more scuffles over who gets more glory on the soccer field?"

"Yes," the coach speaks up. "And there will be no more disparaging remarks about Titus' mother."

"About your mother?" Kylo's eyes narrow as he turns his head to focus on Titus. "This fight was about your mother?" he hisses. No wonder the kid didn't want Rey to know. Titus hesitates to respond and Kylo prompts, "Well?"

His son gulps before he answers formally. "Yes, Master."

"You did not tell me this was about your mother."

Titus nods and an awkward silence falls.

The worried headmaster inserts himself. "E-Excellency, we have been discrete as the palace requested. But word of these things gets around, as you can imagine. Mrs. Solo's appearance here was-shall we say-conspicuous? It is not the norm, of course, and children can be cruel about things that are not the norm." The man is red faced and flailing for words now.

"When you refer to my wife," Kylo says mildly, "you will kindly refer to her as Princess Renata. Despite her crimes, my wife will always be a princess of the blood and the Palpatine heiress to the original Empire."

The headmaster nods emphatically at this bewildering reveal. He stammers, "Yes, of course, your Excellency. Our deepest apologies for the offense, your Excellency."

Kylo turns now to the quaking kid Titus had beat up. "My wife, Titus' mother, is not to be mocked or disrespected. Is that clear?"

The other boy looks about the cry. "Yes, E-Excellency. I'm s-sorry, Excellency."

Kylo now turns back to his son. "Next time you decide to start a fight at a soccer match, wait until the game is over so you won't get kicked out of the game. And endeavor to fight someone on the opposing team. A leader does not desert his troops in the middle of battle. And he presents a unified front to the other side. You should have waited to jump this kid until after the game was won. Choose your battles more wisely, son. That includes who you fight, when you fight, and where you fight."

"Yes, Master," his boy nods.

"And the next time I ask you a question, Titus, I want the complete truth."

"Yeah? What's the point?" His boy now challenges him. In front of witnesses too. "You won't listen to truth where Mom is concerned. All you see is your own version of it."

Kylo sighs and shoots a quick bolt of lightning his way. It knocks Titus from his chair to land gasping on the floor.

Everyone gapes. For Emperor Ren is revealed to be every bit as magical as the rumors say.

"Fuck!" his kid gripes under his breath as he climbs to his feet. "That fucking hurts."

"I'm sure it hurts your father more than it hurt you," the headmaster chimes in loyally.

"No, it doesn't," Kylo replies. "And there's more where that came from if you didn't get the message."

"You don't give a shit about Mom!" Titus explodes, ignoring their audience. "You lock her away in the basement and then have the gall to march in here and tell everyone not to notice when you let her out!"

Titus isn't cowed. And that is a good quality, Kylo thinks. So he lightens up on the intensity of the next bolt of lightning he shoots at the kid.

"Fuck!" the boy exclaims again as he gasps. "I hate that fucking lightning and I hate you!" And neither the principal, the coach, nor the other kid's parents seem prepared to correct his language. They are all in awe of this Force discipline and of the strange dynamic between father and son.

"Do we need to continue, or have you received the message?" Kylo sighs to his sprawled kid.

"Sith don't lie," Titus dutifully groans out the Dark Side maxim and Kylo is appeased.

"Very good." Kylo stands and reaches down to haul his kid upright. Then he looks to the headmaster now. "Are we done? Because I have a galaxy to run."

"Yes, Excellency." Heads nod in emphatic unison all around.

"Good. Walk with me," Kylo instructs Titus. His kid now dutifully lopes along with the guards and the troopers bringing up the rear.

"Real subtle. Real subtle. Everyone is going to hate me now," his son grumbles.

"No one is going to fuck with you now. And in this school full of kids from striving, overachieving parents, you are about to become very popular, Titus." Cynical Kylo replaces his helmet as he heads for the door. "You will have the sympathy of some too for your mother's situation. That other kid will look like an asshole for exploiting it. So, all in all, I just helped you out."

"Yes, Master."

"Go back to class and learn something. Your mother would have loved to get your education. Titus, you have no idea how lucky you are."

Yes, Kylo is feeling like he's got this parent thing down now. It's not so hard, he thinks. So he heads back triumphant to his palace to tell Rey about it. She'll find out about the fight eventually and so Kylo wants to be the one to tell her. But as soon as Kylo walks into her cell, Rey has another topic on her mind. "What happened to the morning guy?" she demands.

Kylo plays dumb. "To who?"

"To the officer on duty in the morning. Corporal Crispin. You know-the guy who likes to look at my chest."

Kylo tries his best to look innocent. It's hard for a Sith. "Has the good corporal gone AWOL or something?"

Rey puts her hands on her hips. "You're not going to tell me are you?"

"Want to read my mind to find out?" he offers with a roguish grin. And whoops, that felt weirdly like flirting. Kylo had lain awake half the night reminding himself not to go there. But when he's not thinking, Kylo always goes there.

But predictably and thankfully, Rey declines. "Not really. Come clean, Kylo. Did you kill him?"

He shrugs. "I had him reassigned."

"To where?" Rey is suspicious.

"Tatooine."

"Where's that?"

"Outer Rim. Awful place. Just a step above Jakku. You'd like it."

"Oh."

He grins a little sheepishly. "Don't tell anyone, Rey, because it would hurt my cred. But I let him live. I couldn't blame the guy for wanting a peek at your tits. But if anyone is going to feel you up, it should be me. You're my wife."

"Only on paper," she reminds him. "So what brings you here? To what do I owe this honor, Excellency?"

"I'm here about Titus. I was up at school today for a conference."

Rey's brow furrows. "Is something wrong? Yes, something is wrong. What's wrong? Is Titus okay?"

"He's fine. Nothing is wrong. He got in a fight at the soccer game last night. It was with another kid on the school team."

"Fighting? Again?" Rey looks troubled. And disappointed.

He cuts to the chase. "Oh, don't worry, he won," Kylo assures her of the punchline. "The issue is now resolved. I handled it," he says proudly.

And damn, if Rey doesn't look more troubled now. She starts firing off questions like she's his commanding officer. "How exactly did you handle it? And when you say that you went to school, do you mean you went as you? As Emperor?"

"Yep," he grins. "I marched in with a whole squad of troopers and some of your favorite red guys bringing up the rear." Kylo lifts his arms high with a flourish. "Behold Emperor Ren whose son kicked your kid's ass last night. It sort took all the righteous scolding out of the situation."

"I'll bet." Rey looks sort of annoyed at this tactic. And that's not surprising. Because everyone but this woman automatically bends to his will and usually leaps to do so. But then, Rey always saw through his posturing. And she never hesitates to speak truth to power. "Was anyone hurt?"

"I don't think so. I didn't ask," he admits.

She blinks. "You didn't think to ask?"

"No."

Rey shoots him a reproachful look. "Okay. Well, will Titus still get to play on the soccer team?"

Kylo shrugs. "I assume so. I didn't ask that either."

"Ooookay. Well, are the other parents mad?"

"Who cares?"

"I thought Titus was doing well at school. That he was finally making friends." Rey looks so disappointed now. She sighs and sinks down heavily on her bench. "Tell me all of it. How did the fight start?"

Kylo makes a face, remembering the precise reason. Rey doesn't need to know the details her own role in the situation, Kylo decides. It would only hurt her. So he is deliberately vague. "Trash talk."

"Trash talk? From his own teammate? Really?"

"Yes. This other kid used to be the star player before Titus showed up. The fight was motivated by jealousy."

"Oh. Poor Titus. He was so excited about making the post season."

"He'll be fine. Well, maybe a little stiff and sore," Kylo amends, now remembering the lightning.

"Why didn't Milo tell us about any of this at breakfast?" Rey looks angry now. "I understand why Titus hid this. But I don't like that Milo hid this from us. Kylo, we are his parents. We have a right to know." She leans forward now to briefly put her face in her hands. "I used to know these things, Kylo. Before you locked me in a cell. Titus never would have been able to hide this from me before."

"Titus didn't want to worry you," Kylo partly tells the truth.

"Maybe," Rey decides. "But I wonder if he didn't want me to go up to school again."

And that is also the truth. So Kylo quickly points out, "He wanted you to come to the game, remember?"

"He mostly wanted me out of my cell, Kylo. It was like you thought. He's probably embarrassed about me." Rey's face is in her hands again. "His mother wears a prison uniform and chains. Any kid would be embarrassed about that." Rey's brow furrows and for a moment she looks like she's about to cry. He hates to see her humiliated like this. And he hates that he is the cause.

"Hey . . . " Kylo sits down beside Rey on her bench. "His mother is a princess. His father is the Emperor. The kid will be fine."

"Is that why you went up to school?" Rey demands. "Did you need to appear as Emperor to make this okay for Titus at school?" That hadn't been his initial reasoning, but it had been an ancillary benefit, Kylo has to concede. Miserable Rey looks up now. "Are kids picking on him because of me? Do you know? Because kids do things like that."

"No one is going to pick on the Emperor's kid, Rey. There's nothing to worry about."

She looks very unconvinced. "I guess it was a good thing you wouldn't let me go to his game last night."

"It would have been more fun had you been there," he admits.

And that gets her attention. "Wait-you were there?"

"Yes."

"You went? You actually went? Oh, Kylo, I'm so glad." Rey is touched. Truly touched, he sees. Then her eyes narrow. "Wait-did you go as you?"

"No. I went incognito."

"So you saw the fight then?"

"Yes. I gave Titus a few pointers afterwards. He's a scrappy kid. He'll be good in a fight," Kylo says with a note of pride. Because, all in all, it's a good thing that his kid had stood up for his mother. And Sith that he is, Kylo is not going to fault his boy for resorting to violence.

"Wow," Rey digests this news. "You went to a soccer game. And then you went up to school today. Gee, Kylo, that's so . . . so Dad-like of you." Rey looks pleased now. "Thank you. Someone needs to parent him while I'm stuck in here."

And that's the real reason Kylo is here now with Rey. "I want to be more than just his Sith Master, Rey. I want to be his father too. My own father was never around and I think it was mostly because my parents couldn't get along. As a kid, I hated that. And with Titus, well, I have a lot of time to make up for." He can't keep the edge of resentment from his voice now. Because Rey is why he had never met his son until recently.

"So this is how you're going to make sure he has two parents?" Rey frowns at him. "You're going to keep me in a cell?"

Er . . . yes, basically. In part. "Look, Titus needs both of us. There are things you can give him that I can't. I know that. We're his parents, even if we are not together."

"I can't be a mother from a cell," Rey complains now.

And she has a point. So he asks her, "Can you be a mother tomorrow night at the next soccer game? Because tomorrow night Milo and I will be analyzing election returns. I want someone to be there to watch the game."

Rey hesitates. "But if he's ashamed of me-"

"He's not." Kylo tries to shut down that issue. "Plus, I've arranged for Cesi Flick to be there with you. Rey, by now the whole school knows your husband is the Emperor. And you'll be seen hanging out with your friend, the galaxy's most admired woman. All the mommies there will be suitably impressed, I promise. I'll send you with extra guards tomorrow. I promise you will look very dangerous and very important."

Rey does not seem appeased. "How about I just go by myself dressed normally and blend in?"

Hell no. "So you can disappear on me again? Rey, you know I can't have that-"

"I wouldn't leave Titus. You know that-"

"I can't take that risk."

Rey levels with him now. "Kylo, what is all this about? The chains, the guards, this cell. How long is this going to go on? Because punishing me is punishing Titus too. And none of this is his fault." Rey's face is in her hands again. "He doesn't deserve this. Why can't we just move on?"

"To what?" He's almost afraid to ask.

"To separate lives. We get divorced and live apart from one another. But we both still parent Titus. You can teach him the Force and whatever else you want. I won't try to stop that. Look, Kylo, people do this all the time when things don't work out-"

He's heard this suggestion before from Nestor already. He's not going for it. "You're not going back to Biggs," he growls.

"I know. But I want more than this. I'll get a job and an apartment here on Coruscant and-"

"No." Kylo stands abruptly to his feet now. Because he's not moving on. After all these years, he's still not ready to move on. Especially not now that he knows Rey is alive.

"Oh, sit down, Kylo." Rey isn't about to let him avoid this conversation. "Sit down and tell me why. You can at least tell me why."

And that's a problem. Because Kylo doesn't have the words to tell Rey the humiliating truth that her imprisonment is mostly about him. Titus is important, of course, but mostly their boy is a convenient excuse. Because keeping Rey around is mostly about what Kylo himself needs. Having Rey around, even if it's just to argue with him, is good. Rey challenges him. She kicks him out of his comfort zone. She says and does things no one else dares. And she doesn't bow and scrape. Not once has she called him Excellency. Instead, she calls him an asshole. And maybe Nestor is right and he needs more of that in his life.

But more than anything, Rey relieves his isolation. Ruling the galaxy is good but it's not enough. And the slew of girls Milo has brought in over the years has never helped. And maybe that should have been obvious all along. Because none of them were Rey. Kylo looks over at the beleaguered but still strong woman at his side. He knows she would do anything for their son. While that devotion impresses him, it also makes him jealous. Jealous for how important Titus is to her. And jealous for how important she is to Titus.

Kylo wants what he knows he can't have. A family happy together, the way he always intended it to be. A family with Rey affirmatively choosing him, wanting him, the way she never has. A family without all the hurt of rejection, of attempted murder, and the loss of his hand. No, this is never the way he wanted things to be. But the only thing worse than this would be Rey gone again. And then there would be no one to see at breakfast, no one to call him out for his excesses, no one to mother his kid. This isn't much, but he will cling to it for now at least. It's all he's got.

Rey is looking at him questioningly now. "Well?" she asks softly.

And now Kylo fumbles for a way to express what he feels. For he is intensely hurt, disappointed, frustrated and dissatisfied all rolled together. It has all been buried deep for years, but with Rey's arrival it has bubbled up to the surface. Since she arrived, Kylo has been struggling with how to confront all this unresolved emotion. "This is not the way I wanted it to be," he breathes out looking down at his gloved hands.

Rey agrees. "This is pretty bad, even for your family. But that doesn't mean we can't salvage something good from it. For Titus' sake."

Is she saying what he thinks she's saying? Kylo sucks in a quick breath before he speaks sharply. "Rey, I'm not Biggs who goes back to his ex. I can't do this again. You were dead to me years ago."

This is where Kylo has been stuck for over a decade. Not wanting to get over Rey, but knowing he should. He's always been a romantic dreamer, determined to achieve the impossible. That same dogged persistence won him the galaxy. But it makes it hard for him to give up on the other dream that got away-Rey.

Kylo knows better. That's what had stopped him from kissing her last night. But the temptation will always be there. And that's why he can't let Rey go free. Because now he knows she's alive, then that possibility still remains, however remote. And so he will be damned if he will turn Rey loose and watch her find another Cade Biggs to replace him. To see yet another man have the loving wife and happy family he lost. For if he is going to live alone and miserable, then Rey will too. He's a vengeful Sith and he lives to control and possess. So he's fine to keep Rey locked away in his palace basement. He doesn't like it, and neither does she, but he doesn't have a better solution.

Kylo takes her hand now as they sit side by side. It's another mixed message, he knows, like the blanket and the lingerie after his sleepless night spent deciding to keep his distance. But Kylo can't help himself. He is drawn to this woman. Now more than ever.

"This isn't the way I wanted things to be." He keeps saying this because he means it. And he doesn't have a better way to express how stuck he feels. Still, he offers a glimmer of hope. "But we'll figure it out. We'll all adjust."

"I will never adjust to this cell," Rey vows and the quietness of her voice belies her determination. "Never."

He knows. He would be disappointed if she did. And that's the conundrum he is in. "It won't be forever," he says aloud. And he's not really sure what he means by that other than that he doesn't like this either.

"Kylo," Rey looks to him and tonight again they are sitting close. Too close. For Rey is so tempting next to him loosely holding his hand. It would take no effort at all to lean in and capture her mouth with his own. Does Rey feel this same tension? Or is it all in his mind? Probably so. For so much of his relationship with Rey has seemed one sided. And that's the thought he needs now to resist her. Because yet again, this woman would only break his heart.

Rey starts talking again and Kylo has to think to process the words. She is that distracting. "I guess I should thank you for the blanket."

"Does that mean you didn't like the thong?"

"Kylo-" Rey gives a little ironic smile and now he can't resist.

"Promise me you won't hang yourself," he whispers as he leans in to kiss her. Soft and gentle on the cheek. Then the galaxy's most powerful man, the undisputed Emperor of all the known universe, feared by his enemies and respected by his allies, flees as fast as he can.


	18. Chapter 18

"Here. Hold that thought while you put this on." Cesi Flick thrusts a tube of lip gloss at Rey as she hovers protectively close to shield Rey's primping from view. Rey, Cesi and a ridiculous number of stormtroopers and Imperial guards stand on the sidelines of Titus' soccer game. It's the only logical place since together the party from the palace might take up most of the bleachers. But it makes them extra conspicuous.

No one is watching the game, Rey thinks. They are all watching her.

"Ma'am, that is not permitted for the prisoner," the guard behind Rey speaks up.

But his voice is tentative and Cesi Flick immediately shoots him down. "Trooper, it's lip gloss, not a blaster." She's not the First Lady of the galaxy for nothing. And Lady Flick naturally has an imperious streak.

"But Ma'am-"

"She's a princess. Deal with it."

Rey has to chuckle a little at this exchange. She smiles over at her friend. "I guess I have to put this on now, eh?"

"Yes, please. A little lip color brightens your whole face." Rey dutifully complies and Cesi inspects her work. "Let's see. Good. It looks good. Natural and then a little more. Everyone is checking you out, you know."

"Yes, I know. And look at me," Rey sighs as she looks down at her chains, prisoner jumpsuit, and ugly mannish shoes. She reaches up self-consciously to pat at her ponytail. "I never thought I would say this, but I desperately miss my grooming droid. I could use some princess help."

Cesi gives her another critical look. "Yeah. Don't take this the wrong way, but you could use a facial. Pores must be vigilantly maintained. Good skin is mostly consistent effort, you know."

Again, Rey has to chuckle. "Cesi, there's no mirror in my cell. I have no idea what my skin looks like. And forget my pores, I could use a wax. It's been months and it's itchy as it all grows in." She leans in now to confide in a whisper, "Cade liked me bare."

Cesi blanches. "Oh, Gods, and here I am worrying about lip gloss. How bad are your legs?"

"Bad. From the waist down, I'm full on Jakku now."

"I love it." Lady Flick gives a very undignified snort laugh. "Kylo's going to get an eyeful if you model that new thong for him." As they both laugh, Cesi leans in to give Rey a quick comforting hug. "Oh, Rey, I have missed you. This sounds so strange every time I say it, but I am very glad you're not dead."

"Me too," Rey laughs some more.

And now Cesi resumes their earlier topic. "Okay, so getting back to Kylo-"

"Yes, so he's holding my hand," Rey continues the tale. "And that's weird because Kylo never used to do things like that. He was never a hand holder and that was before I cut one off."

Cesi snorts again. There is a lot of gallows humor tonight, Rey thinks, but what can you do? If she can't change the situation, at least she can laugh at it.

"Yeah, I don't see him as a hand holder," Lady Flick agrees after she considers a moment. "Not at all."

"So then he tells me not to hang myself-"

"Oh, please don't. Rey, I can't take you dying again on me. And think of Titus."

"And then he kisses me on the cheek."

"On the cheek?" Cesi echoes. She's puzzled.

"Yes, on the cheek."

"Wow. That's so . . . chaste. So . . . third grade. What's next? Is he going to text you a love letter in emojis?"

"Cesi, it was weird. Because it was so NOT Kylo. Chaste was never his style, trust me," Rey dishes. "The Kylo Ren I knew was aggressive. Er . . . very aggressive. More likely to throw me up against the wall than to hold my hand."

Cesi sighs. "It's been years since Nestor threw me up against the wall."

"Well, that was Kylo. One kiss and he'd have me in bed. The man didn't take no for an answer. Not that I said no . . . Of course, we were kids back then," Rey thinks aloud. "Maybe he's just mellowed over the years."

Cesi snickers and leans in to whisper, "Maybe it's low T."

Now it's Rey's turn to snort laugh. "Oh, that's mean, Cesi. Very mean. And he completely deserves it. But that can't be the case. Because what about all his young girls?"

Her friend is unrepentant. "Overcompensating," she shrugs.

Rey is choking back guffaws now. "Oh, Cesi, I need this. Some time out of my cell, a soccer game for Titus, and some girl talk with you. Best day ever. Well, best day since I got arrested."

Lady Flick nods and then starts in on her cross examination. "So wait-were you wanting Kylo to kiss you? Or just surprised that he didn't kiss you? Or upset that he didn't at least try?"

And that's a good question. "I don't know," Rey equivocates. "Kylo is so different around me now, Cesi. But to Titus and everyone else, he's his same old snarky, sarcastic self. Obsessed with power and the Force, like I remember. But sometimes I see . . . Well, he's . . . "

"He's what?"

Rey sighs audibly. "Sometimes I see the man I used to know. But that man was less hard. Less cold. Full of big dreams and big ideas. He was optimistic in his own twisted way. Determined and confident. Back then, Kylo made you want to believe what he believed." It's hard for Rey to describe in words all Kylo Ren's Dark charisma. But it had been real. And it had been part of the spark between them.

From the moment Kylo had stood alone on the prow of the _Inflictor_ wreck back on Jakku, Rey had been drawn in by this man's strange nobility of purpose. By his craggy, disjointed features that were somehow handsome, by his smirking smile that betrayed that the Sith was laughing at everyone around him. Kylo's utter conviction to his cause coupled with his fervent need to be loved had charmed the naïve scavenger girl. Rey had never known anything other than isolation on a backwater planet until her Skywalker prince showed up to sweep her off her feet. Kylo had promised to love her and to give her the galaxy. And for a time, Rey had wanted that too.

Cesi gives her a frank look now. "Rey, tell me this isn't some twisted prisoner-falls-in-love-with-her-jailer thing. Er . . . is it?"

"No!"

"Good," Cesi looks relieved. "Because that would not be you. Not at all." Again, she gives Rey a frank look. "So this means you still want him." This is a statement, not a question. "The old him, I mean. You want the old Kylo back."

Again, Rey isn't sure. "I don't know. Maybe I should have stuck around until the war ended. Things did get better. I see that now. But I couldn't see it then."

Cesi frowns. "Rey, can I ask you a question? Was it hard to commit to Cade Biggs?"

"No. Not really," Rey is a bit defensive now. "Cade and I knew each other less time than Kylo and I."

"Oh. So was that because you were head over heels for Cade Biggs? Or was that because you were pregnant and alone and hiding from Kylo Ren?"

Rey looks away. "I guess I have trouble committing," she admits aloud. "But committing to Kylo isn't the same as committing to a normal guy. You get to divorce a normal guy. And a normal guy doesn't get to lock you in the basement." Rey shakes her head. "I don't know, Cesi. Maybe I'm just lonely. It's scary to be all alone. I pretty much went from Kylo straight to Cade. But now, it's just me in a cell. After all these years, I'm back where I started. Alone."

"It's not Jakku, Rey." Cesi meets her eyes. "It's not Jakku," Lady Flick says again with conviction.

"I know." Rey looks down. "But some days it feels like Jakku. At least on Jakku, I didn't know what I was missing. Back then, I didn't know what it meant to love and be loved. I didn't understand what it meant to be a family. But I do now." And that makes being alone all the more painful.

Rey and Cesi look over now as the crowd cheers. The other team just stole the ball. They watch the action for a minute before they resume talking.

"Look Cesi, I've got issues. I know that. But Kylo does too. He is so confusing now. And that's different too because he always used to be very direct about what he wanted. But now it's a lot of mixed signals. He sends me a black lace thong and tells me it's over. Then he holds my hand and kisses me on the cheek like I'm his mother. Well, not his mother. Kylo would have killed his mother if he had the chance," Rey mutters. She looks to her friend. "Cesi, what do you think it all means?"

Lady Flick considers a moment. "Maybe it means Kylo doesn't know what he wants either. Or maybe it means he's a loser. Look, he was a loser with girls back when we were in school. And now he's the loser Emperor who has to get Milo to procure him girls under contract. Nestor says those girls get an ironclad non-disclosure agreement. Probably so they can't tell everyone that Emperor Ren has no game." Cesi shakes her head dismissively. "Rey, I don't know how Kylo ever won you."

She ruefully admits the truth. "Cesi, he fed me and let me take a long shower on his star destroyer. That was all it took for me back then." Rey makes a face, remembering those amazing first three days she and Kylo had spent on the _Finalizer_. Virgin Rey had been swept away by the passion of Kylo Ren. And then for a long time, she had never looked back. "Gods, I was so young and trusting."

"Okay, so what happened after the kiss on the cheek?" Cesi gets back on topic.

"He ran away. And I do mean ran. Kylo ran like I was Luke Skywalker's Force ghost come to lecture him."

"Oh."

"Yeah. It was almost like he was afraid of me or something. It was strange."

"Well, maybe he is a little afraid of you," Cesi posits. "Rey, you broke his heart. I guess that gives you some power over him."

Really? "Does it look like I have power over him?" Rey rattles her chains as she gestures to the troopers who surround them. The ones closest to her are no doubt listening in. But Rey doesn't care. And apparently Cesi doesn't either.

"Oh, look!" her friend grabs her arm. "Titus has the ball again."

She and Cesi watch as Titus shoots and scores. They cheer along with the rest of the crowd. It's clear that Titus Solo will be the MVP of this game.

"That's his second goal this half." Lady Flick is impressed. "Rey, Titus is really good. And have you noticed how much the other kids like him?"

"Yeah. I wish I knew which was the boy he beat up," Rey confesses. "I'd like to apologize to his parents. Gods knows what Kylo told them yesterday. When he told me about it, he didn't seem very conciliatory. Trust it to Kylo Ren to be proud of his son's violence."

"Hmmm . . . " Cesi Flick thinks a second. Then she says, "I'll be right back." Lady Flick now pushes her way through the guards and heads for the crowded bleachers. Rey watches from afar as her friend kicks into First Lady mode, shaking hands and introducing herself. Ten minutes and many selfies later, Cesi is back with a nervous Upper Level-looking couple in tow. The wife looks expensively casual and the husband looks like he came straight from the office. Cesi rather brightly makes the introductions. These are the parents of the teammate Titus had fought at the prior game.

"Hello, I'm Rey, Titus' mother." Rey reverts to her old princess poise, reaching out a hand in welcome. She blithely ignores her handcuffs. Thankfully, so do they. "I want to apologize for my son's behavior. It was uncalled for."

The husband does the talking. "Thank you, Princess, but our son was in the wrong. He provoked Titus with his unkind words. Our son did not appreciate the circumstances." The husband looks from Rey to Cesi to the imposing guards who surround them. Rey sees the wary man visibly swallow. "None of us did."

"Fair enough," Rey allows. "But my son's behavior is not excused simply because he is Kylo Ren's son."

"Yes, well, we did not appreciate that fact either." The mother speaks up now and she looks very uncomfortable. "My lady . . . P-Princess . . . " she stammers.

"Please, call me Rey."

"Er . . . Rey . . . we had a long talk with our son last night. He knows better than to speak harshly about people we do not know. Especially those who are in . . . ah . . . less fortunate circumstances. Truly, it was out of character. He assured his Excellency that he would never again speak disrespectfully of you."

"Of me? Oh," Rey looks down, suddenly flustered. She feels the heat creep into her cheeks. "So the fight was about me," she states dully. She feels like a fool for not having guessed this.

"We thought you knew." Now the wife too is red faced with intense embarrassment.

Rey takes a deep breath and glances to meet Cesi's sympathetic eyes. "Of course, this was about me," Rey says softly. "Titus stopped fighting after he came to Coruscant. Until it was about me." And now, Rey understands why Titus and Milo had hid the fight from her. They had been trying to protect her feelings. Maybe even Kylo too. "My situation is very h-hard on our son," Rey divulges to the other boy's parents. She forces herself not to look down. As humiliated as she feels, Rey isn't about to let it show. "Titus is sensitive about it."

The husband speaks up again. "Our son was in the wrong, Princess. We should be the ones to apologize. We are deeply ashamed by his behavior."

Rey nods. "I'm just glad that no one was hurt." Then, Cesi Flick, the politician's wife who knows the meet-and-greet routine better than anyone, deftly shepherds the couple away. She returns in time to catch Rey blinking back tears.

"Gods, I hate how things are with Kylo," Rey mutters. "For myself but mostly for Titus."

Cesi nods. "We have to get you out of that cell. Rey, you can't stay in that cell."

But Rey has little optimism despite Kylo's vague statements last night. "Cesi, Kylo has to trust me before he'll let me out. And I don't see that happening. It was a nonstarter when I asked him again if we could divorce and move on. All he would say is that this wasn't the way he wanted things to be."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. We were supposed to live happily ever after. He would rule the galaxy and together we would balance the Force and raise a lot of little Skywalkers." Rey makes a face. "Obviously, it didn't work out. Kylo was very clear yesterday. He doesn't want to get back together."

"Yeah, so what was that black lace thong about?"

"Who knows? Honestly, I would much have preferred some practical cotton granny panties," Rey grouses.

Cesi laughs. "Honey, no man is ever going to give you that."

"The man who gives you a peck on the cheek would."

"Yeah," her friend concurs. "You're right. None of this makes sense."

* * *

It's election night in his New Empire. Every three years, one third of the Senate is up for election. The ultimate outcome of the contest is never in doubt, but Kylo finds the process to be satisfying all the same. For like the annual celebration of Empire Day, election night publicly reaffirms his power. And that is a heady feeling for a Sith. It tends to put Kylo in a very good mood.

Kylo grew up watching elections that had real drama. Standing forgotten off to the side of crowded rooms where his mother's New Republic cronies anxiously tallied the returns. Analyzing data and spinning the results real time with quotes to the hungry free press. It has taken Kylo Ren many years to appreciate all that he had absorbed from his mother's experience. Until long into his adulthood, his judgement of Leia Organa had been mostly colored by his contempt and disappointment. But building his New Empire has given Kylo an appreciation for all that his mother had attempted with the New Republic. Leia Organa had been a Skywalker through and through, Kylo has decided, even though she never once picked up a lightsaber and learned very little about the Force. In the end, his mother had lasting influence nevertheless. Darth Vader's daughter had mattered in a big way.

It's like how Rey matters. For many of Rey's ideas have found their way into his government. And Rey too has birthed a Chosen One. It's one more reason why Kylo worries that he is making a big mistake keeping Rey in a cell. Plus, growing up, Kylo himself had needed a more involved mother. But now, he is the one keeping his own son from Rey. Kylo can't help but feel he is repeating his family's mistakes. And that is something he had sworn never to do. He keeps hoping his son will adjust and accept the situation, but so far that's not happening. If anything, it's getting worse.

Where is Titus? His son should be here to see his father's triumph, Kylo thinks. To see how elections should be conducted. Kylo looks around at the busy conference room full of people. One whole wall of screens plays newsfeeds from across the galaxy broadcasting the election coverage. Only the crowded room and the yapping media coverage is the same as the election nights of Kylo's youth. Everything else about tonight is different. There are no tense moments and raised voices, no heated back room debates and recriminations. There are no boxes of half eaten pizza and pots of caf brewed late into the night. No one has lawyers on standby for advice on recount laws. No one has prepared both acceptance and concession speeches for the candidates. No, all is smooth, orderly and preordained. Just like his Empire. And for that, Kylo Ren is proud. True democracy is messy. But his Senate is not. It's peace and order, just like he promised.

The door suddenly whooshes open and it's Cesi Flick arriving with Titus. They are not in the private wing of his palace, so court protocol is strictly observed. Cesi sinks gracefully to one knee and his tired, sweaty kid lumbers down beside her. Kylo looks them over with a welcoming smile, noting the many curious looks cast their way. That Emperor Ren has a son is still something of a secret even within the palace walls.

"Arise," Kylo commands before fixing his gaze on his son. "Report."

"We won." The boy's face breaks into a jubilant grin.

Kylo resists the automatic urge to reciprocate. Instead, he raises an eyebrow. "Decisively?"

"It doesn't matter, Master. All that matters is that you win." His son quotes back Snoke's teaching that Kylo has passed on. For this is how Darkness endures. It is taught and re-taught from Master to Apprentice in an unbroken line. And now, thanks to Snoke's legacy, it is passed from father to son.

"Well done." Kylo nods approvingly at young Titus. It seems the boy has been listening after all. Kylo turns now to the group of men huddled with Milo over a set of datapads. "Have they called Chandrila yet?" He's impatient for this night to be done now that his son is home.

"Not yet, Excellency," someone replies. "There are some major urban areas with polls still open."

Again, Titus is listening. "If winning is all that matters, then why do you care about the margin of victory for the election?" the boy asks.

It's a fair question. And so Kylo gives him a full answer. "Elections are not like a soccer game or a lightsaber duel. Elections are a useful barometer of dissent and dissatisfaction. Peace is a lie, son. Conflict is the only constant in the universe. But conflict can be managed. On those worlds where our margins of victory fall, we will analyze the cause. Perhaps we will change our policies or positions, perhaps we will change our candidates, or perhaps we will discredit our opposition. But in the end, we will maintain control. And that will maintain peace and order."

"Yes, Master," his son dutifully replies.

"I also want to be sure that all the credits and favors Milo spreads around are effective. I like to get my money's worth."

"Yes, Master."

Kylo leans forward in his chair now to ask with a smirk. "Well? Did you beat up anyone at this game?"

The boy reddens slightly. "No, Master."

"Kid, I don't care who you beat up so long as you have a reason. Violence must always have a purpose. It is a tool, not an end."

"Yes, Master."

Cesi Flick stands quietly watching throughout this exchange. Her face is a mask of pleasantry, but Kylo feels Lady Flick's disapproval strongly through the Force. But it's not about his parenting, it's about Rey, Kylo surmises. For Lady Flick is a loyal friend to Rey in the way that her husband is a loyal friend to Kylo. And that pleases him. Emperor Ren nods to the galaxy's unofficial First Lady. "Cesi, thank you for attending this evening."

"It was my pleasure, Excellency," Lady Flick responds coolly. Cesi Flick always uses this formal politeness around him. It's one part stiff court protocol and one part nervous dislike. Nestor's wife has never liked him personally, Kylo knows. And that was even before what happened with Rey. Cesi Flick likes him even less now that Rey is back from the dead and downstairs in a cell. Of course, Nestor's wife is far too politic and smooth to show it. And that discretion and decorum is precisely what makes her an excellent First Lady.

"Where is Rey?" he asks her now. "Is she back downstairs?"

"No, Excellency. The princess is waiting outside. Her security escort is awaiting your instructions."

"Send her in," Kylo decrees before announcing, "You both are dismissed."

That is Milo's cue to excuse himself for a moment to get the scoop on Titus' game. "I will just go settle the young Master," he tells his huddled team. And Nestor now gets up from his seat beside Kylo to greet his wife. The door whooshes open again as Milo and Titus depart and Rey is marched in.

As usual, she declines to take a knee. By now the guards know not to force the issue because Kylo doesn't mind this cheekiness. Once Rey was to be his equal, after all. And since Rey still says and does things no one else dares, it seems fitting that she thumbs her nose at the rest of court protocol while she's at it.

"Hello, Rey," he drawls, noticing all the sharp eyes that follow her progress into the room. Kylo doubts any of these political operatives would remember his supposed princess sister, if they ever met her in the first place. They are civilians by background for the most part.

"Kylo." Of course, she never addresses him as Emperor. Rey stands in chains before him now with that same innate dignity he remembers from the desert girl who had stood in rags before her AT-AT with her staff firmly planted in the sand. Ready to fight. Ready to run. Ready for anything. That's his Rey. Resilient and poised.

"Sir, they're calling Chandrila," an aide speaks up now. "We didn't break sixty-five percent."

Kylo scowls. "I hate Chandrila. Put them on the list with the other two worlds. I want a full analysis and briefing by tomorrow."

"Yes, Sir."

"Are your poll numbers lagging?" Rey looks amused. "Could democracy truly be at work despite all your graft?" She glances over at the media coverage that blankets the wall of screens. "How many votes did you buy tonight?"

"Not enough in Chandrila," Kylo grouses. "I hate Chandrila."

And that remark makes Rey laugh out loud. Now everyone in the room is watching the shockingly informal exchange between Emperor Ren and this strange prisoner woman. And that audience, plus Kylo's good mood, prompt him to start some tongues wagging. "Rey," he tells his reluctant wife, "It is fitting that you are here to share in tonight's triumph. Ladies and gentlemen," Kylo announces as he gestures before the assembled group to Rey, "Meet the woman you can thank for the Senate. My princess is something of a Founding Mother to my Empire. She and Nestor and a few lawyers were the brains behind our constitution." Kylo turns back to Rey. "In the end, we took most of your suggestions."

"Except that important one about term limits," she reminds him. "You know—the one designed to avoid the entrenched incumbents that plagued the Old Republic Senate."

"Oh, I like my Senators incumbent and entrenched," he assures her. "And very beholden to me. It helps ensure that I get my credit's worth. Do not be shy, Princess. Accept our gratitude. We stand in the midst of your achievement, not mine."

Rey just rolls her eyes. "Don't blame all this on me, Kylo. You, Nestor and Milo cooked this up."

"You are too modest, my dear," Kylo smirks. He turns back to all the politicos number-crunching on their datapads. "What's left outstanding?"

"Nothing of consequence, Excellency," a man speaks up. "It is a complete victory, as planned. Congratulations, Excellency."

"Well done," Kylo nods to the group. "But next cycle, I want Chandrila and the rest of the Core above sixty-five percent."

"Yes, Excellency."

"Where is the champagne? Someone pour the champagne," Kylo requests. "Pour our princess a glass too. She will join in our toast."

"No, thanks," Rey declines. "Champagne goes straight to my head."

"Very well, pour her two glasses then. Rey, I insist." Kylo squints at her now as he rises to his feet. "Are you wearing lipstick?" Rey looks like she's wearing lipstick. Something about her looks different. And he likes it.

"That was me, Excellency," Cesi Flick quickly speaks up. "I take full responsibility," she rushes to insert herself. And Kylo wants to chuckle at this impulse to martyr herself for the cause of beauty. It's very Lady Flick. Few people understand the power of optics better than elegant Lady Flick.

"No harm done. My Empire could use a bit more beauty," Kylo decides. "Are we done here?" he asks as someone hands him a glass of champagne. Like magic, Vanee's staff has appeared to distribute glasses with the same efficiency the First Order uses in an invasion.

"Yes, Excellency. The Chancellor will be holding a press conference in a few minutes. We have your prepared statement to be released to the newswires. PR has our representatives placed on all the major morning holonet newsfeeds tomorrow."

"Good," Kylo approves.

"It sounds like you have election stealing down to a science," Rey observes tartly.

"Indeed," he grins. "Would you expect anything less?"

"No," Rey admits. He sees her eyes take in the wall of screens behind him. Most of them are showing First Order candidates making acceptance speeches before cheering crowds.

Emperor Ren now lifts his glass. "To peace and order."

"Peace and order," the group responds enthusiastically. All except Rey who stands holding two full glasses looking like she's about to put him in his place. So Kylo downs his drink and crosses the room to stand before her. He's in a good mood and ready to trade more barbs with Rey.

"Chug-a-lug," he encourages in a tone only they can hear. "It's time to go back to your cell. I want to hear about the soccer game on the way. So drink up."

"I told you. Champagne goes straight to my head. If I drink this, I might never make it back to my cell."

"The we will compromise on one glass." Kylo takes the glass from her left hand, clinks it with the glass in her right hand, and then downs it in a single gulp. "Well, go on," he complains as she sips at hers.

Rey's eyes keep finding the newsfeed images of cheering crowds. She raises an eyebrow at him over the rim of her glass. "So this is how democracy dies? To thunderous applause?"

Kylo chuckles. "Oh, democracy died long before I came on the scene, Rey," he assures her. "Snoke had the Old Republic Senate bought and sold. He did the same with the New Republic Senate. I am merely continuing an old tradition. Are you done?"

"Fine," Rey relents and swallows most of her glass. Then ends up sputtering and coughing.

He takes the glass from her and discards it on the nearest table. "Come on, Princess. Let's go." He starts striding towards the door. But while Kylo is there in five paces, Rey is barely shuffling along. She's been out of the palace, so her leg shackles are especially short as a security precaution. Just watching her mincing steps makes Kylo impatient.

"Oh, you're way too slow," he complains. It drives him crazy to match her slow trudge. "The rest of the Senate will be up for election by the time you get down the hall."

"Perhaps if you would just let me go free-"

"Hell, no, Rey. Stop asking." Then, on impulse, Kylo marches forward to scoop her up and throw her over his shoulder. That will speed things up some.

Predictably, Rey is incensed. "Put me down!"

"Quiet, prisoner," he orders, ignoring the stares he is getting and turning back to address Nestor as if nothing were amiss. "Make sure you get in that mention of the Empire Day theme," he reminds his Chancellor. Kylo doesn't want to squander this opportunity to hammer home his theme of loyalty and patriotism while billions watch Nestor's press conference.

"Yes, Boss." His friend is grinning up at Rey's squirming form. But his wife doesn't bother to hide her disapproval this time.

"Kylo, put me down!" Rey hollers. She's wriggling in his grip. "Kylo!"

"I said quiet!" He smacks her ass. Then swears under his breath. "Damn, Rey, you need to eat something. Your ass is so bony it's sharp."

"Fuck you, Kylo!" These snarled words shock everyone in the room except Kylo and the Flicks who have heard it before. "Now put me down or I'm going to put the Vader choke on you."

Kylo is having fun. First a good election night, then a winning game and some Sith wisdom from his son, and now another verbal brawl with Rey. Yes, he's having fun. "Princess, don't let Milo hear you use that language. He would be shocked. Just shocked," Kylo teases.

"I'm warning you-"

"Don't hurry back," Nestor winks. Kylo turns back to the door but not before he catches Cesi Flick elbow her husband hard in the ribs. Kylo smirks then strides from the room.

"Tell me about the game." He talks to Rey the whole way down as if they are walking side by side as usual. And once he gets her talking, she eases up a bit. Telling him about Titus' three goals and other details of the game.

"You know, walking to and from my cell is the only exercise I get these days," she is complaining mildly by the time they reach the basement detention center. No longer threatening to Force choke him.

"You're in solitary," Kylo reminds her. "Walking outside your cell is a privilege." The guard on duty looks alarmed as he watches Emperor Ren walks up with Rey slung over his shoulder and a bunch of troopers and guards bringing up the rear.

"Was this an escape attempt, Sir?" the man asks.

Rey speaks up before Kylo can respond. "Tom? Tom?" She is twisting in his grip. "Tom, please get the keys so he will put me down."

"Sir?"

"Tom, please get the keys."

The jailer is looking to him now for instructions. So Kylo confirms, "There was no escape attempt. I just got tired of how slow she walks. Here," he plunks Rey down unceremoniously. "Unlock her."

"Yes, Sir."

He watches as Rey sways a moment on her feet. She wasn't kidding. Champagne really does go straight to her head. Kylo snickers. "Rey, you're drunk."

"No," she shoots back. "But I pounded a glass of champagne before you turned me upside down for the last five minutes. I'm just a little dizzy."

"Well, sit down before you keel over," Kylo commands and the guards walk her into her cell to seat her on her bench. Kylo lingers watching as they get right to work removing her chains. When they are through, Kylo sizes up Rey's expression. He decides to dismiss everyone and shut the door. They are alone now. He seats himself on her bench.

"Rey, are you really okay? I shouldn't have insisted on that drink. I should have remembered that you rarely drink."

Rey doesn't answer him. Instead she speaks up in a small voice. "Why didn't you tell me that the fight at school was about me?"

This is an abrupt change in mood from the woman who had told him to fuck off ten minutes ago. Kylo wants to wince at the naked hurt in her voice. The shame. How did she learn that information, he wonders. He should kill whoever told her. For Rey looks miserable in the moment.

"Would it have mattered?" Kylo asks gently.

"Titus hasn't fought at school since he got here. He didn't fight until it was about me," Rey sighs. "I was the cause." She looks beleaguered and guilty. For if this woman has one consistent vulnerability, it is their son. There's really nothing Rey won't do for their son, Kylo knows.

"It wasn't about you. Not really," Kylo contends. "It was about jealousy. The other kid knew a comment about you would get under Titus' skin. But he's a tough kid, Rey. And he loves his mother. Those are good things," Kylo rationalizes. "If I were Titus, I would have tackled that kid too."

Rey looks away, still troubled. "I hate that you have made me an embarrassment to him. It's hard enough to be Titus, Kylo. Then you had to go and make it that much harder."

"All kids are embarrassed by their parents at his age," Kylo counters. But he knows she is right. Because long ago a youngster named Ben Solo had chafed under the expectations and notoriety that came with being the son of Rebellion heroes and the nephew of the Last Jedi. Kylo is uncomfortable with her truth. So he changes the topic. "You told me about the game. How did it go tonight with Cesi?"

"It went fine. We were very conspicuous, as you intended. Was that an entire legion you sent with us? Did you empty the whole Coruscant garrison?"

He shrugs. Maybe it was overkill, but he wanted to make a point. "It was just four squads plus a few guards. And there were two of you to protect," he reasons. "I wanted you to be safe, Rey." His eyes keep darting to her lips. "I like the lipstick," Kylo tells her with a genuine smile. "It's pretty."

"Yeah?" Rey colors a little at his unexpected compliment. Then she deflects it. "There's no such thing as natural beauty after age thirty." She gives a little self-deprecating laugh now. "I think Cesi Flick would be more likely to try to smuggle me a grooming droid than she would a lightsaber. She was trying to be considerate at the pod race and again tonight. But I can tell she's pretty horrified. I must look awful. It's a good thing there isn't a mirror in this cell," she says glumly. "Because I don't want to know."

"Rey." Kylo waits until the silence causes her to look up at him. He wants to have her full attention. "Rey, you're beautiful. As beautiful as the day I first met you on Jakku. As beautiful as when you were my fancy Sith princess." He means this. For she is so alluring sitting next to him again tonight. He's tempted to kiss her again. Safely on the cheek, of course. But a kiss all the same. He cannot deny how drawn he is to this woman. And surely one little kiss wouldn't hurt.

Kylo is debating making his move when the moment is lost. Rey gets up to cross the room. "I don't feel beautiful, Kylo," she tells him as she slumps against the far wall, arms crossed as she faces him. It's another one of her unconscious Leia Organa poses, he thinks. "I feel a mess. I'm sure I look a mess. But I guess that's your goal, right? To humiliate me. To establish your power."

No, not really. But that's how it has turned out, Kylo knows. He wishes he had a better solution for them both. But he doesn't. And he is defensive about it.

So he argues with Rey. Like she is the one at fault. As if he doesn't have complete control over the situation. "The girl I met on Jakku wouldn't have given a damn what anyone thought at a soccer game."

"That girl didn't have a son who got into fights defending her," Rey points out. "Look, this isn't just about me. It's about Titus. About what's best for Titus. And you have put enough pressure on him already. I'm just adding to it."

"Rey-" he stands now to cross the room.

"Why are you doing this?" she demands as she watches him approach. "You never gave me a real answer."

"I don't want to lose you again," he admits.

"That's a funny thing to say to someone you tried to kill-"

"If I still wanted you dead, you wouldn't be in this cell," he informs her as he steps forward. That missed opportunity for a kiss is on his mind now and Kylo wants to get closer to her for another chance. He's feeling bold tonight. Like he can dare this because he is a Sith Master who rules the galaxy. He has nothing to fear from this woman or anyone else. "I was wrong to try to kill you. Nestor tried to talk me out of it, but I was stubborn. Rey, I regretted it almost immediately. But it was too late."

Rey sucks in a breath as he steps closer. "Kylo-" She looks confused. "What are you doing?"

He ignores the question. "Had I known that you were pregnant, I would have done anything to get you back. Anything to keep our family together. Even with you cutting off my hand." Kylo steps even closer now, reminding himself that he holds all the power. He has no reason to tip toe around this woman. She is his prisoner who he controls. She can't hurt him anymore. He won't let her hurt him. "I would have forgiven you, Rey. If only I had known."

"There was no safe way to tell you—"

They have been over this before. He doesn't want to debate it again. "You hurt me," he whispers softly as he takes her face in his gloved hands and steps closer still, tipping her chin up as he tips his down. She needs to know this and he needs to say it. "Oh, how you hurt me. First you leave me and maim me. Then you live to steal our son from me. Rey, you will never know how much you hurt me."

Their foreheads are touching as his breath comes soft and warm on her face. "I wanted to survive," she stammers as she pants out her words. He can feel her nervousness in the Force. She's a little excited, a little afraid. "For myself and for our son."

He snatches off his right glove and caresses her cheek with his whirring metal prosthetic. It's gratifying to see her cringe a little. Yes, he is a Sith Master in complete control. And it is a rush in the moment. Because usually this woman knocks him off his game. She's the only one left who can. "I find you married to another man," he keeps purring out his quiet words full of anger. "You wouldn't marry me, but you married the first man you met. Conveniently, he was rich, powerful, and wrapped around your finger. What an opportunist you were."

Rey's eyes close and her lips are trembling now. She jerks her chin away. "I had more than myself to think about."

"You think you're the victim," he croons softly in her ear. His body is gently pressed the full length of hers. Her short, shallow breaths are warm on his cheek. Yes, he's about to kiss her. He's going to kiss her senseless and then walk away. He will damn sure be the one to walk away. "You think you're the victim. But can't you see that I am the victim too?"

Rey's eyes pop open at this remark. She screws up her face and pushes back hard. Giving him a shove that sends him reeling. "Get over yourself, Kylo! Titus is the real victim here."

And just like that, he loses the advantage. Kylo falls back, looking sternly into her indignant face. All his quiet anger held in check bursts forth now in a torrent of words. "You want to know why I am doing this? Because I am a Sith and I want vengeance, Rey! I want you to live in the same Hell that I do! Because you would not love me, then you will love no one! You will be alone as I have been alone! You will know regrets like I have regrets! You will hurt like I have hurt! I will not move on, you will not move on. Because we are each other's destiny!" he bellows. Her eyes are wide with alarm at this speech. So he keeps going, pressing his advantage. "I forgive you for my hand, Rey. It was an accident—I know that. But I do not forgive you for my heart."

"Oh." Rey is momentarily taken aback by his bitter vehemence. "I'm sorry!" she wails now, gesturing emphatically with her palms up and open. "Is that what you want to hear? Because I am sorry!"

No, that's not what he wants to hear. He crosses his arms and stares her down. "Try again, Rey."

"I was wrong! You were right that things would get better in time. I should have stuck it out a bit longer. Things might have worked then . . . "

"True, but try again, Rey."

She is confused and annoyed now. "What is there left to say?"

The only thing she will never say, he thinks sadly. That she loves him. He could forgive Rey everything if she would only love him. For beneath his cold exterior lurks the man he once was. And that's a man who so desperately wants to be loved. By anyone. But especially by this woman.

"We had our chance at happiness and we blew it, Kylo," she tells him. "We ruined our lives but it has to end there. We can't ruin Titus' life too."

Rey starts to cry now. Great, big gulping sobs. And, damn, he doesn't want to see this. "Goodnight, Rey," he tells her, unable to look away as she slowly slides down the wall to settle on the floor with her knees tucked to her chin. "Goodnight," he tells her again. She doesn't respond. She just nods a little between hiccups and gasping sniffs. And, fuck, he doesn't want to see this. After a moment of indecision, he plucks her up and envelopes her in his arms.

"Oh, K-Kylo . . . " Rey is fighting for her composure now. But holding on tight to him too. "We can't change the past. We c-can only do better in the future. For T-Titus." Her voice is hushed and earnest. "P-Promise me, Kylo . . . promise me that Titus will not end up alone. No one should e-ever be alone . . . " This is Jakku talking, he knows. And it gets worse. "I promised myself when Titus was born that he would never be hungry, he would never be thirsty, and he would never be alone. Not the way you and I have ended up alone."

Jakku . . . it's always Jakku. "He has us," Kylo soothes her as he wonders how this conversation suddenly became so raw. But Rey always brings out intense emotions in him. And so much between them is left unresolved. "Titus will always have us," he promises. "Things will be better for him—"

"That's what your parents thought," she sobs into his chest. "That's what every generation of Skywalkers has thought going back to a slave woman who surrendered her son to a Jedi. Kylo, it's like every single one of you is cursed . . . "

Yeah, he knows. And he had intended to break that cycle until Rey had left him and ruined everything. "I wanted things to be different for us—"

"Stop! Stop saying that! Stop pretending you don't have control over this situation!"

"I'm a Sith Master. Control is what I do, Rey. You know that."

She tenses up now and pulls back slightly in his arms. "You are so fucked up, Kylo," she decides. "You are one angry, fucked up asshole."

"Yeah? Well, you're fucked up too, Rey," he observes pointedly.

She doesn't debate the point. "I know. Kylo, I couldn't take more of your war. And I was afraid to be your Empress. Afraid to be married to a Skywalker. Afraid to be immortal."

"I am not immortal, Rey," he reveals. "I never did the ritual."

"No? Oh." She is surprised.

And now he can't help himself. He gathers her close again. "I didn't want to be immortal without you," he confesses into her hair. "I don't want to be forever alone."

"I am afraid to be alone," Rey admits her own truth now. "I am not someone who can be happy alone. Maybe some people can, but I can't."

"Does that explain Cade Biggs?" he wants to know.

And this is a sore subject. "I needed Cade in my life. Kylo, you should be grateful that Titus and I had Cade in our lives. He took care of us when we needed help the most. Cade didn't deserve what happened."

Maybe not, Kylo thinks, but that's the consequence for people who get between the Skywalkers. Even good people become victims of circumstance. Ask the Lars. Ask the Organas. And now, the Biggs family.

Kylo pulls her tighter against his chest, reveling for a moment in their closeness. Theirs is a connection that blows hot and cold, they attract and they repel. Lately, it is emotional whiplash to spend time with Rey. She is mouthing off to him one minute and crying in his arms the next. She is stoic and proud in her chains and then diminished and desperate where their son is concerned.

Rey has gotten past her anger and now she just seems sad and lost as she clings to their son. But Kylo is not ready yet to let go of his rage. Scratch a little beneath the surface and it is laid bare, as raw and potent as it ever was. Holding her now, part of Kylo wants to forgive her. But he doubts he can. He's not experienced with forgiveness. He is a Sith and his default method of resolving conflict is to kill. It's how he ended his war and how he dealt with his uncle. But it's not how he wants to deal with Rey. Plus, he is wary, oh so wary, of again falling under this woman's spell.

"I can't be alone, Kylo. Don't keep me in here forever alone." Rey keeps fixating on her worst fear. Kylo senses in the Force her deep anxiety bubbling up. "I don't want to be alone." And now, she is the one pulling him closer. She is the grasping, needy one. Snaking her arms up around his neck, pulling his face down. "I don't want to be alone."

Is she doing what he thinks she is doing? She is. "Kiss me, Kylo," she murmurs.

Did he hear right? "This is a bad idea." Kylo rasps as he starts to disentangle himself. He's used to being the aggressor, not the other way around. This isn't how he imagined this would be. Once again, this woman has thrown him off his game. "I should go. Goodnight, Rey," he speaks into her cheek as he loosens one of her arms and then the next.

"Coward," she accuses and for a moment he fears that she sees right through him. Because it's true.

But what the fuck? "You're the one who is afraid to be alone," he counters, thrusting her away. "Rey, we are not doing this." He's searching her eyes suddenly shy now that the tables are turned. "I c-can't do this."

"Kiss me, Kylo," she whispers out a command. "Shut up and kiss me." Then Rey makes the first move. Stepping forward and pulling him down to her hungry open mouth.

Is this happening? This is really happening. This is not a fantasy. This is real. Oh, Gods, this is so fucking real.

For an instant, he is tentative. A little unsure. And then his restraint is released. Because she wants him. She really wants him. Not in her passive aggressive almost kiss way of a few days ago but in a say-it-out-loud-I-told-you-to-fuck-off-and-now-I'm-telling-you-to-kiss-me way. Suddenly, Kylo wants to fist bump the universe. His hands move to her hair, roughly yanking her ponytail loose. Then burying themselves in her long strands. Pulling her head back to open her mouth to his thorough kiss. He will drown them both in his passion.

"Rey. Oh, Rey . . . " Kylo says her name over and over again. He's got her up against the wall of her cell now. Hands working down from her hair to wander her body. "This means nothing," he warns her between near frantic kisses. "I am not letting you out."

Rey just responds with a moan.

His frame now grinds into hers. It's a pantomime of what is coming next. Is he going to get another chance at this? Who knows? So he is going to make it count. He's going to kiss her like he means it and then he will fuck her until she screams his name and finds her Light. And then, he too will be screaming.

"This won't get you out, Rey. I am never letting you out." He keeps warning her of the truth as his hands creep under her shirt. And, yes, she's wearing his bra. Arching beneath his hands now to further his touch. "I don't love you . . . I will never love you again." Is he trying to convince her or himself? Kylo isn't sure. But he's saying it like a mantra now. To be sure he doesn't his cool in the moment and confess all. He's already revealed way too much tonight. And vulnerability does not become a Sith Master.

She's a little creeped out by his mechanical hand, he realizes. For she recoils a bit as the warm metal reaches up under her bra. The modest breasts he saw months ago outlined in her white dress are mostly gone. Rey is so slim now like when they first met on Jakku. And, damn, if it doesn't make him ashamed. He knows how sensitive she is about being skinny.

Kylo pulls back now with second thoughts. Rey is looking up at him, face flushed, lips parted and panting. A Light Side temptress even in her prison togs. The Force is swirling madly around them now. Sith Master Kylo Ren is experienced enough to recognize the meaning. It means change. Imminent, life altering, forever change.

And that is the splash of cold water that instantly cools his ardor. Because this woman has a power over him that he cannot seem to shake. And that makes Rey dangerous. Very dangerous.

Kylo steps back as he feels a jolt of true fear for the consequences if he proceeds. It's an uncomfortable emotion that makes his words come out a little too harsh. "I can't do this, Rey. Not now. Not ever. Do you understand? Never again, Rey!"

He stands there staring at her a long moment in silence. Longing. Wanting. Fearing.

Then he storms from her cell. Kylo is stalking through his palace when he passes Nestor on his way back from his press conference. His friend does a double take. Then backtracks to grab his arm.

"Boss," Nestor chuckles. "Go wipe your face before the kid sees you."

"What?"

"You've got her lipstick on you."

"Fuck!" Kylo swears emphatically. And then again. "Fuck!" He is frustrated beyond belief by the situation he finds himself in. By the woman who still has the power to break his heart. By the boy who needs both his guidance and his mother too. Kylo feels a failure now. For this is the Skywalker drama he had wanted so badly to avoid. Yes, this was never the way he wanted things to be.


	19. Chapter 19

The humiliating encounter with Rey on election night bothers him. Really bothers him. For days, Kylo debates moving Rey to a real prison to remove her temptation. But in the end, he keeps her at the palace. It's partly a concession to his son, but mostly an admission to himself. For he needs her Light and he wants her company, even if it's a brief, terse hello and then the quasi-silent treatment at breakfast. He and Rey trade a few dirty looks when Titus isn't looking and exchange the occasional zinger. But that's about it. For Kylo takes pains never to be alone with Rey now.

Kylo doesn't trust her not to play the femme fatale again.

He also doesn't trust himself not to succumb.

After Rey's daily appearance at breakfast, she is marched back in her cell to spend her day alone, like she had feared. From time to time, Kylo is guilty over that, but he tells himself it's for the best. That it's easier to resist Rey's temptation this way. Ruthlessly, Kylo shoves Rey out of his mind. Doing his best to ignore her constant beckoning presence in the Force.

His Sith family is concerned. Milo and Vanee both lobby for soccer game field trips that Kylo does not permit. Two games later, the school team loses a crucial playoff game and the season is over. The issue goes away. Even so, Cesi Flick keeps issuing invitations for Rey that Kylo declines. And twice this week Nestor has dropped by at breakfast unannounced. The Flicks are worried about them. That much is clear.

The one who complains the loudest and longest on Rey's behalf is Titus, of course. And smart kid that he is, the boy couches his complaint in terms of the Force.

"How can I understand the Light? Everything you say is just words. Show me."

"I can't show you. That's your mother's responsibility." Kylo is a Sith Master and he's not about to start dabbling in the Light.

"Then let me go see her," the boy stubbornly persists. "I want to see her more."

"No." Kylo doesn't need his boy unsupervised with Rey. And putting Titus down in the cell with her will likely only renew the boy's objections to her treatment. And then his whining will increase.

"What are you afraid of?" Titus challenges him one night when Kylo is waxing eloquent about the Light. "Are you worried that Mom will turn me Jedi?"

Kylo smirks at this remark. "The Jedi are gone. Their fire went out of the universe before you were born. Besides, you couldn't be Jedi if you tried, Titus. You are far too much like me."

"Yeah? And what if I refuse to be Sith?"

That remark earns his petulant kid a quick shot of lightning. "Any boy who would refuse this opportunity is not worthy to be my son," Kylo sternly informs his little prince. "You have a responsibility to your family, to the Force, and to the galaxy. This is an offer you do not get to refuse."

The kid picks himself off the floor and glares at him. Kylo ignores it. He knows that he is tough on his boy, but Kylo judges it necessary. Titus has enormous potential in the Force and in the long run all that power will require discipline, training and focus. The boy is a few years too young for formal Sith training, but Kylo spends an hour or two each night teaching him the basics of the Force. Sometimes they meditate, sometimes Kylo teaches him rudimentary fighting skills, and sometimes Kylo hands the kid a book from his library and tells him to go read some Kittat so he can learn something. This power is the reason you are here, Kylo reminds his son again and again. It is the reason I reclaimed you for my own and the reason you will one day make me proud. Power is tantamount so learn it, he instructs.

The Force turns out to be a safe topic for Kylo and Titus. It quickly becomes the only thing they can talk about and bond over. Other topics have a way of ending up in arguments and whining about the boy missing his mother, missing his sisters, missing Cade Biggs, and wanting to go home. Kylo has little patience for that.

True Skywalker that Titus is, the Force captures the kid's imagination. Titus is a quick study and eager to learn. In return, Kylo endeavors to be a patient teacher. At this introductory stage, Kylo mostly wants to provoke the boy's curiosity. To teach Titus the deep reverence for the Force that first Luke Skywalker and then old Snoke had instilled in him. To pass on the history and lore of the Jedi and Sith traditions that have culminated in the Skywalker family. To kindle in his boy the natural zeal for power that will motivate him during the difficult training days that lie ahead.

It is unorthodox, but Kylo decides to discuss the Light and the Dark hand in hand. By teaching the Jedi and Sith perspectives simultaneously, he hopes that his son will grow facile with the Force as a whole. So that one day, his son will be as deft with the Light as with the Dark. And then, hopefully, Titus will be the ultimate Skywalker, the one to bring balance to the Force. But this radical pedagogy by its nature requires plenty of discussion of the Light. And that topic keeps bringing up Rey.

"You were raised in the Light and trained first as a Jedi," Titus points out. "This stuff was real to you because you saw it and lived it. But it's just words to me. I hear you say the words, but I don't understand their meaning."

"Try again. Connecting with the Light was hard for me too. Clear your mind and try again."

But the boy is too frustrated. High strung and ruled by his emotions, like himself, Kylo realizes. Titus not only looks like him, he thinks and acts like him too. Titus is a bit reckless, quick to anger, needy for attention, and easily bored. In his son's dogged devotion to Rey, Kylo sees his own emotional dependency. And a little bit of his possessiveness and obsessive nature. For like him, Titus does not easily let go. But unlike his younger self whose authority figures were Senator Leia Organa and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, Titus has not been raised to adhere to discipline and duty. He is hugely entitled and oblivious to his considerable privilege. For in many ways Cade Biggs and Rey had been permissive, indulgent parents. Asking for better behavior rather than demanding it. Tolerating outbursts rather than quelling them. Coaxing the boy to responsibility rather than expecting it. And that is why Kylo is determined to be strict with his boy. Kylo doesn't give time outs, he gives lightning. The boy doesn't lose his datapad, he gets lightning. And there's no such thing as grounding a boy who is not permitted friends. Instead, he gets lightning. For spare the rod and spoil the little Sith, Kylo reasons.

Tonight, his son's frustration is at an all-time high. "I can't do it! Master, this is too hard! Do it for me. Show me how. Or don't ask me to do this." This is the third night in a row that the boy has struggled with Jedi meditation. And so Kylo takes a deep breath and resorts to the only available teacher. He summons Rey.

His mind is so attuned to Rey's presence by now that he can practically pinpoint her slow progress from her basement cell. With each step closer, her Light slowly engulfs him. Shimmering in his mind's eye, like sunlight dancing on water. Closer. Very close now. The anticipation is killing him.

"Can you feel her approach?" Kylo asks his boy, eager to know. But Titus cannot. His senses are not yet sharp enough to feel more than his mother's general presence in the Force. But they will improve with maturity and training.

"Open your mind," Kylo instructs. "Feel the beauty that is your mother. Inside and out."

Titus blinks at this observation. "Beautiful? Mom? Really?"

"Yes. But dangerous too." And the kid looks even more incredulous at this description. Probably because Titus knows Rey the soccer mom pancake cook and not Rey the scrappy scavenger who cuts people's hands off.

When finally she appears, Rey's face lights up at the sight of Titus. Mother and son hurry to embrace. The reunion of his family ought to be a tender moment for Kylo. But looking on from across the room, all he feels is jealousy. Persistent, nagging jealousy. These are the people closest to him who know him best. And yet they make him feel left out. Like he is the interloper in his own palace.

Rey looks around at the spacious private living area that Kylo calls home. Despite all the obvious expense, the room is very restrained in its aesthetic, bordering on ascetic. She looks surprised.

"Welcome to the Sith's lair," Kylo waves an arm expansively from his seat where he is sprawled manspreading on the couch.

"Very functional. This looks like a fancy version of your _Finalizer_ quarters," Rey decides. "It's not very Snoke." And that's true, for the old Muun Sith bon vivante had lived large surrounded by artifacts and luxury. Not so Kylo Ren. This Sith Emperor lounges at home in a simple black tunic and boots, not some shiny dressing gown. Kylo spent his formative years at war and so his taste is decidedly no frills. But he prefers to think of it as very Vader. For his grandfather's castle is similarly adorned.

Rey looks around some more. "This is weirdly Jedi, you know."

Normally, those would be fighting words to a Sith. But not this Sith. Kylo smirks. "Actually, not Jedi enough, Rey. You are here because we need a Jedi. Sit down." And then Kylo starts explaining what he is trying to teach and what he needs her to demonstrate.

"It's been a long time since I did this." Rey is hesitant. "Don't expect much. Kylo, I am very out of practice."

"Not as much as I am," Kylo assures her.

"Why?" Titus asks. "Why are you out of practice?" The boy's innocence about the true gravity of the situation must be his youth showing, Kylo decides. For while Kylo has shared the stories of his Skywalker heritage, Titus doesn't really appreciate what his mother had dared in defying a Sith Master to steal his son. But, as always, Rey declines to dwell on the conflict of the situation. She downplays their personal animosity more and more, he's noticed. Wanting to make things easier for Titus, no doubt.

And so, Rey answers the question succinctly and truthfully, without embellishment. "I was always afraid that your father would sense me in the Force. Titus, your father is very powerful in the Force. And he is drawn to the Light. I worried that I would reveal us and then I might lose you."

"So when we lived on Kuat, you didn't use the Force at all?" Titus asks.

Rey nods. "Never consciously. Some things about being Force sensitive—the intuition, visions, reflexes-are natural. I couldn't really stop those. But I did stop actively trying to use the Force." Rey thinks a moment. "I think the last time I was in the Force was when you were born. I was terrified and I needed comfort. So I sought the Light."

"Why?" It's the boy's favorite question.

And Rey looks a bit uncomfortable now. These are uneasy memories, Kylo senses. "Because I was alone and scared. And because the women in your father's family haven't always fared well. Especially in childbirth."

"Really? Mom, no one dies in childbirth. Not for a millennium or more," his son scoffs. And that's the conventional wisdom in a time of advanced medicine. But there are exceptions to the rule. Like his grandmother, Kylo knows.

"Lord Vader's wife died in childbirth," Rey explains, "or something like that. The exact circumstances were never known. That worried me. Plus, far too many children in your father's family have been orphaned."

"It's our family," Kylo corrects, meeting Rey's eyes.

She doesn't comment. Instead, she continues her tale. "I kept worrying that stormtroopers would burst in to steal you and kill me. I had nightmares about that happening. Titus, I was never sure if they were Force visions or not." And now Rey starts teaching. "When you see the future, beware, Titus. It is not certain fact. Master Luke used to say that the future was always in motion. He warned that blind faith in visions could lead you astray."

Titus looks to him and Kylo nods his agreement. Luke Skywalker wasn't wrong about everything, after all. Just the important things.

"Now," Rey smiles over at Titus. "Hold my hands and together let's find the Light." She reaches across the table she is sitting at to join hands with her son. Then she closes her eyes and summons the Light.

Kylo can't help but sigh as he basks in its reflective glory. He lets him mind wallow in all that blinding Light shining out at his mind. It's like squinting into the sun on a bright summer's day. Dazzling him. For this is how the Light operates: it impresses you. It does not overwhelm with its dominating nature, it leads by example and waits patiently for you to follow. It does not demand capitulation, instead it beckons you over with a smile. It does not divide, it unites. It does not condemn, it forgives. It will not harm unprovoked, instead its first impulse is to heal. The Light is beautiful. It is merciful. Sincere.

Gods, Kylo thinks, how he has missed this.

"I used to do this with Master Luke," Rey is talking to Titus. "We would drift in the Force together for an hour or so. Letting the Force guide us and bring us peace. Can you feel it?" she asks hopefully.

"I'm not sure," Titus sounds troubled still. "Master does this too. But in Darkness. And that's easier," he grumbles.

"We Sith meditate on an emotion," Kylo speaks up now from the couch. "To stoke our power. Your mother and Master Luke would meditate on peace."

Rey nods her agreement. "In the Light, we surrender to the Force, Titus. We do not seek to control it. Do you feel it now? Let yourself go and feel the Force flowing through you. Feel the connection between you and me, between you and your father, between you and the universe. This is the oneness of the Force. We are all distinct within it and yet all connected by it."

Damn, this is so Skywalker of them, Kylo thinks as he sits back observing. He and Rey sitting around after dinner talking about the Force. Passing on their knowledge to the next generation. This is what Darth Plagueis had intended for them. He and Rey were to be the marriage of Dark and Light, the ones who would supersede the limitations of the Jedi and Sith mindsets and create a new tradition in the Force. Watching Titus with Rey now, Kylo is convinced of the wisdom of his approach to teach the Dark and the Light together. Rey will teach the boy compassion, negotiation and peace. He will teach his son statecraft, war and leadership. All so that one day, this young princeling will have it all and be it all. And then, he will bring balance to the Force.

"Snoke would have loved this," Kylo suddenly blurts out loud.

Rey laughs a little. "He was such a Force nerd."

"Like me," Kylo admits.

"Like you," Rey agrees.

It is bittersweet, Kylo knows. For his old Master should be here now, swirling his wine in his glass and droning on. Giving advice and guidance to his Apprentice Sith Emperor in this tutelage and all other things. And Rey should be doing this relaxed and happy with their son. Not with handcuffs that scrape the tabletop with her every move. Titus should be content here too, raised from a baby by his two loving parents. Not plucked from his home and bluntly informed of his parentage before witnesses as he sprawled on the floor. Yes, Kylo thinks, nothing about his life has turned out quite the way he had expected it. He got the galaxy, but he lost quite a bit along the way. His success has been costly.

Titus is still struggling. Physically and mentally tensing up. "Don't panic," Rey soothes. "And don't be afraid. I feel it too. Just float in the Force. Try again to let yourself go," Rey encourages.

Kylo now chimes in. "That is a major difference between the two traditions. The Jedi surrendered to the Force and sought to control their emotions. The Sith seek to control the Force by surrendering to the power of their emotions."

"Which side works better?" Titus asks, and it is a fair question.

Kylo spouts the wisdom of his iconoclast Sith Master Darth Plagueis the Wise. Somewhere on Moriband, Darth Bane and the rest of the Shadow Force Sith titans are spinning in their graves. But this is a truth Darth Ren is unafraid to admit: that Darkness is not supreme. "Titus, the Force is the Force. The Dark is not stronger than the Light. But some Force users are stronger than others."

"Which of you is stronger?" Yes, the kid goes there.

There is an awkward pause before he and Rey answer in unison: "Your mother is." "Your father is."

And Titus laughs. "You two can't agree on anything, can you?"

"I am far more trained and practiced. But your mother has the greater natural talent," Kylo concludes.

Rey shrugs. "I never learned to do much in the Force. Darth Plagueis was wary of teaching me-"

"Because he knew how powerful you might become," Kylo interrupts. "Titus, your mother has amazing natural ability. She would have been a formidable Jedi."

"In which case," Rey points out, "one of us would now be dead. And Titus wouldn't be here." Rey looks across at him. Her face softens and she beckons and pats at the empty seat beside her. "Kylo, it's okay. I know you need this. Come, join us," she offers. "Come and join the Light."

He stares hard at her offered hand and hesitates. "I am a Sith Master," he declares proudly.

"Who once was a Jedi padawan," Rey reminds him.

"That was years ago."

"As a Sith Apprentice, you opened a Jedi holochron," Rey recalls.

"That was years ago."

"Suit yourself." Rey turns back to her son. "Old Darth Plagueis thought that the ultimate power in the universe would belong to the Force user who could flow between the Dark and the Light. The Chosen One would be grey. A little of both."

"Is that the balance of the Force? A little bit of both?" their son asks.

"I don't know," Rey confesses.

"No one knows," Kylo corrects. "The Chosen One was a Jedi prophesy. The Jedi High Council thought my grandfather was the Chosen One. After he fell at Endor, the task of balance fell to my Jedi uncle Luke Skywalker, Lord Vader's son. My uncle had a strong streak of Darkness that he suppressed his whole life. From time to time, he dipped into the Dark Side. But Skywalker always pulled back."

"So your uncle could wield both the Dark and the Light?" Titus is intrigued.

"Yes," Kylo confirms. "Luke Skywalker might have been the Chosen One had he let himself embrace his Darkness. My old Master had no end to frustration over him. Darth Plagueis believed strongly that my uncle had let the galaxy down by shirking his duty to the Force and to his family. To the very end, my Master kept offering to welcome my uncle home. My Master hoped that together they might discover the balance."

"So if your uncle and your mother are dead, does that mean that you are the Chosen One, Master?" his boy asks. "You are the next generation, right?"

This is a sore subject. Kylo catches Rey's eyes and then they both look away. "No," he sighs heavily. "My Master thought I could do it, but that was years ago. Darth Plagueis thought your mother and I could do it. But things didn't turn out like we hoped."

"So it's too late? Are you sure?" Titus looks back and forth between his parents.

"Yes, I am sure." Kylo shuts this line of discussion down. "It is too late for me, son. I had my chance. This Jedi padawan became a Dark Sith long ago. It falls to you now, Titus, to bring the Light and the Dark together."

"But why can't you do this?" Titus persists. "If you are as powerful as Mom says, then why not you?"

"I have grown too Dark."

He must sound a bit bleak as he says this, for Rey renews her offer now. "Kylo, you don't have to join us. But just feel this. Feel the Light." She looks at him with pity now and it's a bit uncomfortable since she's the one in handcuffs. "I know you need the Light," she says softly.

"I can feel it from here. Thanks." And this is where he wants to feel it, Kylo decides. From across the room a safe distance from Rey. That woman is far too beguiling as it is. He doesn't need to hold her hand and feel the temptation of her flesh and her Force simultaneously.

"This is hard. This feels strange. I don't like this." His boy looks scared. "I'm not doing this right. Mom, what am I doing wrong?"

Kylo knows this issue. He once had struggled with it himself. For he is a man of action and it goes against his nature to be passive in the Force. "That is the loss of control you are reacting to. We Sith need to control. The Jedi strived to let go. Now concentrate. Find the Force. And breathe. Just breathe, kid."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Kylo admits testily. "But my uncle said it over and over again."

And now, predictably, Rey starts making excuses for the kid. "He's tired, Kylo. He's had a long full day already. And this is so new."

And that is the boy's cue to whine, "I can't do this."

"Show him, Kylo," Rey urges. "Show him how a Sith finds the Light."

"Rey, you know I can't-"

"Just once. Show him." Rey raises an eyebrow. "Or are you asking Titus to do something that you yourself cannot do?"

Drat the woman, she knows he can't resist a challenge. He's competitive like that. And his son is looking to him hopefully. Kylo relents. "Alright. Just once." He stands and walks to the table. Then he joins hands with them. "I always hated how hard this was. But I will try." Kylo takes a deep breath and closes his eyes to quiet his mind. It's been many long years since he has done this. To say he is rusty is an understatement. But here goes. " _There is no emotion, there is peace._ _There is no_ _. . ."_

Fuck! There is no way he can do this. Kylo falters immediately.

Rey doesn't speak, she just gives his hand a little encouraging squeeze.

Damn, this is hard. It was hard at fourteen as a padawan with a bad attitude but it's impossible at forty-five as a Sith Master. His mind just doesn't work this way. Kylo feels his frustration rising and that's counterproductive. So, he thinks of he and Rey. Of their long-ago happiness back in younger days when ambitious dreams still seemed possible. Of Rey flashing her wide grin at him as she stood before her humble AT-AT, staff in hand. Of Rey the imperious princess content to hold his hand on the bridge of the _Finalizer_. Of Rey sliding down a rope in a wreck and blinding him with her Light.

Love. He thinks of love.

Yes, he is calmer now. More centered. Anger and frustration fall away. Disappointment and confusion dissipate. He's closer now. But he's still struggling for how to connect to the Light Side of the Force. " _There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity."_ Slowly, Kylo repeats the mantra of the Jedi Code learned as a child on his uncle's knee. "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is-"

"What's that?" Titus wants to know.

"The Jedi Code. Now, shut up. This is hard."

Rey squeezes his hand again. And he's back to focusing on her. On love.

Then suddenly, he's in the Light. Not watching it as a bystander, but truly in it himself. And, oh, Gods. This is amazing. Kylo is panting now. Head thrown back, eyes closed and gasping. For this high priest of Darkness is supplicant to the Light he has not felt this intensely in so long. The little acts of mercy he does now and then do not compare to this. Nothing he has felt in over a decade compares to this. And still, it barely holds a candle to the blaze of Rey's Light in her arms. But this is far safer for his heart.

The darker his deeds, the stronger is Kylo's call to the Light. And in the years since Emperor Ren systematically exterminated his enemies and everyone else in the way of his path to power, he has grown very Dark. It's why Rey's presence locked away downstairs is such a constant temptation. It's why he lays awake craving her touch late into the night. Hearing the siren's call to his mind to come to the Light. For this sinner desperately needs to be washed clean of his Darkness. And here he is, finally, come to the Light. In the moment of reconciliation, the rush is intoxicating, overwhelming, liberating, addicting. It is everything all at once. Kylo feels a single tear sneak out from the emotion of it all. From the release. He groans aloud, feeling his hand trembling in Rey's. He's got shakes like a junkie gone too long without his spice.

"Master?" It's his son sounding concerned.

"Feel it," Kylo breathes out hoarsely. "Feel the Light. Feel the power."

"Y-Yes," the boy is fearful and intimidated by his father's reaction. "Okay, I'll try. I guess."

"It does not hurt. Do not be afraid," Rey speaks up. "Titus, nothing in the Light will ever hurt you."

"But he's-"

"Your father is fine." Rey shuts Titus down sharply. And Kylo is touched by how unexpectedly protective she seems.

Kylo now abruptly drops his son's hand and fumbles for Rey's other hand, wrenching it free from his son's grip. "Mine," he rasps as he claims both her hands. For tonight, the Light will be all for him. But it's too much, too quickly and Kylo feels a sob bubble up from somewhere deep inside. And now, Kylo Ren, Sith Emperor, worries he will unman himself before his soon-to-be Apprentice who needs to respect and fear him. So Kylo tears free of Rey's grip to stumble blindly across the room, his back to his family as he struggles to right himself. Reflexively casting his arms out to the side as he vents the overwhelming tide of emotions he feels through the Force. He shoots forth potent Dark lightning for a full minute as he finds his equilibrium. For the rush of Light has overcome him and now the Darkness within needs to assert itself.

How long is he standing there ostensibly looking out the window at his capital world he had once reduced to ruins? Kylo isn't sure. Time disappears until he feels a comforting arm snake around his waist. It's Rey leaning into him in the closest thing to a hug that her chains will permit. And it's perfect, for she is the Light now in action. Concerned and full of compassion for him. Because Rey knows. She knows just what the Light means to him.

"Kylo. It's okay. It's okay," she soothes.

Does she know that she is the cause of this? That her absence is what makes him crave the Light she took away? This is why balance is so important for his boy to achieve, Kylo thinks. So that his son will not have to live like he does, with wide ranging impulses from one extreme to the other. His boy will live stable and secure in his power, never being dependent on another the way Kylo had allowed himself to become dependent on Rey.

And now Titus speaks up from across the room. "What's going on? What was that? That was weird."

Slowly, Darth Ren the Just turns around to look his heir in the eye. "I am a Dark Sith," he pants out the truth to his son. "Gone many years without the Light."

"But the pardons and the good works?"

"They are not the same as the salvation of the Light. Never get this Dark, son. I am too Dark. I have done terrible deeds so that you will not have to do them. So that you will still have a chance to choose a middle path. The war turned me too Dark. It won me the galaxy and stoked my power. But it lost me your mother and the chance to balance the Force." Kylo looks over at Rey standing a bit apart from him now. "My sacrifice will be your gain," he vows to his boy.

"You two split up over the war?" Titus looks from one parent to the other. "No one has ever told me what happened. Just that you fought and she left."

"It was the war," Kylo confirms grimly.

"Mom?"

Rey hesitates before she answers. When she does, she looks away. "I loved your father. But I did not love what he did. And as the war dragged on, he did terrible things all for a future that scared me."

"What future?" Titus persists.

"This future," Kylo answers plainly. "Ruling the galaxy and balancing the Force."

"But I thought this was an offer you can't refuse," stammers the boy as he recalls Kylo's earlier harsh words.

"Which is why you are both here now," Kylo informs him. "You can run from your destiny, but you cannot hide from it. No Skywalker has ever succeeded in being anonymous. Don't bother trying."

"Oh."

Rey says nothing.

Titus keeps trying to make sense of what he has been told. "So you are a Dark Sith who can find the Light. Are you sure that doesn't make you the Chosen One, Master?"

"Just because I feel the Light does not mean I can use it. The Chosen One will use it. He will be both Light and Dark."

"Oh."

Kylo looks over at Rey's averted cheek and remembers the ecstatic, euphoric feeling from only moments before. There's more where that came from, he knows. And being a Sith, Kylo Ren always wants more. Suddenly, he is anxious to get Rey alone. Is this Sith a reformed sinner? Or is this corrupted Jedi padawan a lapsed saint? It doesn't matter. All that matters is that is that he is more than ready to give in to temptation.

"That's enough for tonight," Kylo announces. "Let's get your mother back in her cell."


	20. Chapter 20

Their strange little family accompanies Rey back to her basement cell. Kylo is on edge the whole time, with a tense jaw and averted eyes that she recognizes to mean he is very rattled. Rey herself is subdued by what has transpired. But Titus is animated and full of questions.

"If the Dark Side shoots lightning, then what is the cool Light Side trick?" he wants to know.

Rey answers. "Master Luke said that many of the most powerful Jedi could heal with the Force. The Light helps and heals, Titus. The Dark dominates and hurts." The two disparate traditions of the Force are opposites, as usual. It's a bit like her and Kylo, Rey thinks with a quick glance his way. Each of them is strong, but they tend to handle things different ways. They tend to view things differently too.

"Can you heal?" Titus asks.

"I have never tried."

"You should try. Mom, I want to be there when you try. Okay?" Titus keeps up his enthusiasm. "Can we do this tomorrow night?" He looks to his father. "Because this was fun. And you guys argue way less about the Force than you do other stuff."

Kylo is gruffly noncommittal. "I'll think about it."

Even his tone indicates trouble. So Rey inserts herself. "Titus, your father has to be careful about the Light."

"Yeah? Why? Because he keeps talking about it."

The boy is confused and that's understandable. Likely, Titus doesn't know all that has come before. And he does not yet appreciate what it means to be a Sith who craves the Light. "Titus, for a thousand years or more, the Light and Dark were at war. For generations, the Jedi and the Sith killed each other. Don't be fooled, there is real conflict here. What your father is teaching is very unorthodox. You should know that." Rey glances over at quiet Kylo. "Let's tread carefully."

"But tonight you weren't in conflict," Titus points out. "You were actually nice to him for once, Mom."

Rey winces a bit at this observation. "I don't hate your father. We just—"

"Just what?"

"Look, when you are older you will understand that when two people hurt each other, it can be very hard to move past that. Sorry doesn't fix everything. People get bitter."

"Oh."

Rey thinks back now to the long-ago peace discussions she had helped to lead. Remembering how it had been impossible to resolve the war without further violence. Years later, she and Kylo seem similarly unable to move past their own grievances. Because resolving conflict is hard. And it takes time. The world is not bad guys versus good guys all the time. It's more complicated than that. More confusing. More grey. Right versus wrong does occur. But more often, the tensions are between competing truths. Between different priorities and values. Maybe Kylo is on to something with this balance idea, Rey thinks. Maybe the Force could use more grey. And then, perhaps it will reflect the experience of real people in the real universe and not just archetypes and ideals.

"Mom, maybe if you told him you were sorry he would let you out of the cell," Titus half-whispers to her.

Of course, Kylo hears. "Stay out of this, kid."

"But—"

"I said stay out of it."

"Yes, Master."

Their slow procession finally reaches its destination as their trio trudges up to the small basement detention center. Kylo promptly dismisses their son. "Don't you have some homework to do? Go on. Go upstairs." Kylo seems in a rush to get rid of Titus and now Rey fears she is in for another angry lecture from the Sith.

"Yes, Master."

As Rey says goodnight to Titus, Kylo barks at the jailer on duty. "Open the door. Hand me those keys. I'll handle this."

Yes, Kylo is definitely angry. And that has Rey a bit demoralized. Every time Kylo lets her out of the cell for something other than breakfast, it ends up in a fight. Then Kylo runs away or storms off and Rey is left to sit and wait until the impulse to free her for an hour or two hits again. This is the sturm and drang of Kylo Ren that she remembers. An impulsive man of extremes. It occurs to Rey now that the more she sees Kylo, the more he seems like his old self. Was all his cold remoteness at the start just an act? These days, it's hard to tell how much is posturing with the Sith.

As she steps into her cell, Kylo immediately shuts the door behind them and locks it with the Force. Rey starts making amends. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pressed you to do that in front of Titus."

"I didn't have to agree," comes his testy reply. "I tell that kid no all the time."

Yes, Kylo is upset. And it dawns on Rey that maybe he is more upset with himself than with her. "Oh, Kylo, I'm sorry. I didn't think through what I was asking," Rey tries again.

"Sit down," he orders and then he crouches before her to start unhooking her ankles. After a moment fiddling away, he is frustrated. "Fucking chains," he curses under his breath. "I hate these fucking things." A little more fiddling and finally her legs are loose.

"Thanks."

Kylo looks up and those dark eyes of his seem to drill right through her. Kylo Ren has never seemed more intense than in this moment. "I'm going to need it now." He says his words like a warning. "I'm going to need it in a way I haven't for a long time."

"Oh." Yes, this is a warning.

"A little Light means I want more Light. It's the Force at work."

"Pushing for balance," she whispers, finishing the thought.

"Yes." His hands are sliding slowly up her pantlegs now and it's distracting. "We are the only ones who are left. There may be other Force users out there, but none who are trained. None who matter. Not like us. And so, the pull is strongest for us." He looks away now, troubled. "It's why I want things to be different for Titus. To be easier." And then Kylo says what he always says. "This isn't the way I wanted things to be."

She never knows what to make of that remark.

"Are you alright?" Kylo had her worried earlier and now Rey is worried again. Since he came back into her life, Rey has never seen Kylo Ren be this vulnerable. Angry, yes. Hurt, yes. But not vulnerable. His cocky, sarcastic, commanding exterior is gone and he is struggling tonight. Or maybe, Kylo has been struggling all along and she just hasn't seen it.

He is still looking away. "I have been too long without the Light. Rey, you don't know how that feels. You don't know how much I need-" His voice trails off leaving the rest unsaid.

"Oh, Kylo."

"It's my own fault. I didn't have to agree." Now he changes the topic. "I was harsh the last time I was in here . . . "

"Yeah?" Rey eyes him. She's listening.

"It's not that I don't want to try again. It's just . . . well, I'm not happy about this prison cell either . . . But the stakes are very high, Rey. And I'm not convinced that you've changed any."

"Is that an apology?" Rey isn't sure because it sounds a bit like she was just dissed. And if it is an apology, it would be a first.

"It's not an apology. Sith do not apologize. You know that." He looks irked now. "It's a statement."

She nods. "Well . . . statement accepted."

"Can I trust you, Rey?" he asks suddenly. Looking up with those intense eyes again. They are searching hers. Looking for reassurance.

Yes, she decides. "If you let me out, I'm not going to leave," Rey promises. "I would never leave Titus."

"I'm not talking about the kid—I know you love him. I'm talking about me. Can I trust you? For myself."

"What are you asking me?" Rey says softly.

"If I let you join me to teach Titus . . . if again, I feel the Light . . . " His face is flushed. "Look, I don't want to start something that you will take away again." He is embarrassed now, looking down and completely unlike his normal self. "Because after just tonight . . . Fuck, Rey, I don't know if I am craving the Light, or you, or both . . . "

"Oh." Just what exactly has she unleashed by asking Kylo to join her in the Force? Rey is wary now. But she also senses that she has the advantage.

Kylo is still struggling to explain himself. "I get used to things. I get used to people. I might get used to you." His eyes dart up to catch hers. "Again."

"You mean you might love me again?" Did she really just say that out loud? Yes. And it's too late to take it back.

"I don't know." His eyes pin her down. "Could you love me again?"

Could she? More importantly, should she? "I don't know," Rey is honest. "That might be a bad idea. For both of us," she adds. "But one thing is for sure. I can't love you from here in a cell."

"I know. But you also can't leave me either." And now Kylo is the one who looks like he has said too much.

In the awkward silence that follows, Kylo stands to his feet and stalks across the room. Leaving her seated still in chains. Rey watches as Kylo runs a hand through his hair. It's a nervous gesture that reveals he is uncomfortable. Yes, she has the advantage. Rey takes a deep breath now. If teaching the Light is what it will take to get her out of this cell to see Titus some more, then Rey is willing to do it. She's just offering to find the Force and to share it. That's all.

And so, Rey hazards an impulsive offer. "Kylo," she begins and he whirls at the sound of his name, almost like he is startled. That's how on edge he seems. "Kylo, I will meditate with you and Titus now and then . . . if you want . . . if that would help." Then she recalls his near shame earlier, how he didn't like to appear weak before their son. So, Rey adds, "If it would be easier, it could be just us. No Titus to see."

He looks at her a long moment and then nods.

"Are you going to do these?" Rey holds her wrists out to be unlocked. "You forgot these."

In three paces, Kylo crosses her cells and takes her hands. But he's not tending to her chains. He has other things in mind. "Now," he tells her.

"What?" Huh?

"Now, Rey. I want to do it now." He kneels before her, grasping her cuffed hands. With this posture, it's weirdly like Kylo is begging despite his tone of command.

"Now?" But they just meditated upstairs minutes ago. And Kylo still hasn't unlocked her hands. She's annoyed he hasn't unlocked her hands.

"Yes. Now. Find the Light." Kylo's eyes are boring into hers again as he half-begs, half-commands. "Show me the Light."

"Okay." Rey takes a deep breath and summons the Force. It's a little easier this time, actually. And it feels good. The Force is calming and centering for Rey. A dull hum of universal energy that flows through her and connects to the larger cosmos. Rey hadn't realized how much she has missed this. For it feels like belonging. In this moment, she is less alone.

This is the comfort of the Light, but it is so much more to the Sith Master Darth Ren. His face wears the same expression that earlier had alarmed Titus. A contorted grimace that could be pleasure or could be pain. It is the mark of ultimate sensation and it is a look that Rey remembers seeing on Kylo's face before. But not for many long years. She's only seen it on one other man's face, and that was Cade Biggs.

Suddenly, Rey is uncomfortable and makes to pull away. "That's enough, Kylo-"

But he clamps down hard on her hands and leans in closer. "More . . . I want more . . . " This comes out as a guttural groan. Then Kylo actually shudders.

And now, Rey is really uncomfortable. "Kylo, we need to stop."

"More," he persists. Snaking a hand up to curl around her neck and pull her face down. One hand still clutches hers and the other presses hard on her neck until her lips meet his.

It's a soft kiss, and that in itself is surprising. Because when she pulls back, Rey's breath catches in her throat. Kylo's gaze is hot, Dark and smoldering.

"Kylo-no-" she begins but never finishes her sentence. For he goes in for another kiss and it drowns Rey in its sudden passion. She gasps at the enormous need she has unwittingly unleashed.

"You wanted this. Just a few days ago you wanted this." And that is true. She had been feeling alone and vulnerable and seeking a connection. Looking for some way to reach the better man she once knew. "You know you want this," Kylo goads her. Then his mouth is on hers again and Rey struggles to think straight in the moment. Kylo's kiss is as unsettling as she remembers and the Force swirls around them, threatening her concentration. She wavers and he crushes her hand to steady the connection, but Rey is out of practice and rattled. She loses the Force.

Kylo loses the Light.

He looks scared for a moment. Then: "More." It's a growl and a plea. A command and a request. Raw and needy. Kylo yanks her forward and Rey practically lands on him. She's on her knees now like he is, only off balance and leaning heavily in his arms. Rey's hands are still shackled, so she can't right herself easily or push away. She is left grabbing at his wrists as he cups her face in his gloved hands. He's staring deep in her eyes and she cannot look away.

"Rey, give the Light. Give me your Light."

* * *

Forget the rest of her chains. Kylo has one thing on his mind. All he knows is need. For this woman, for her body, and for her love. He is moved by the emotion of the moment and dazzled by her Light. And now, hand holding is not enough, a kiss is not sufficient, nor will a meditation fulfill. Kylo Ren is a Sith Master and he wants it all. Sex and the Force. This woman was always the most beguiling thing he could ever contemplate. Tonight, Kylo decides that he cannot resist. First, he gave into the Light. Now, he's giving into Rey. To months of pent up desire since he discovered her alive. To years of regret for attempting to kill her. To hidden longings for her long ago elusive love. Kylo pushes aside all the hurt, the jealousy and the betrayal to surrender to his all-consuming need. The taste of Rey's Light in meditation was merely foreplay to whet his appetite for this. Now, all his inhibitions fall away.

"Rey," he breathes out her name, his heart in his throat. "I need more. Please, Rey, more. Give me more." He's a Sith and he always wants more.

His hands are all over her as his mouth crushes hers. Tonight, he's not taking no for an answer. Because after so many cold years alone, Kylo is emboldened to reclaim with greedy hands the happiness and intimacy he needs. Only this woman can give it to him, he knows.

Rey squirms in his grip and pulls back, turning away. "No, Kylo. We can't do this," she gasps out. But now she's pinned against the bench and he edges up close behind. Nuzzling her neck as he leans into her. His arms snake around up under her loose shirt to cup her breasts. She's not wearing her smuggled bra. Rey does her best to push his touch away and her voice is firm this time. "No, Kylo. We can't do this."

Kylo is undeterred. He's determined to wear her down. For didn't they always used to do this dance of refusal? Aloof Rey loves to play hard to get, he thinks. His lonely orphan girl secretly loves to be chased, to be wanted. So Kylo puts on the full court press. "I remember what you like. I remember everything, Rey." He is pinching at her nipples now. It's a sharp sensation she used to love. "We were so good together."

"Kylo, stop-" As she turns her head over her shoulder to face him, Kylo captures her lips for another hungry kiss. And now she is thawing a little. And is she moaning? He thought he heard her moan. Yes, that was definitely a moan.

When they come up for air, he shifts his attention to her jaw and neck. Dropping words between kisses. "You will never know how much I have missed you-" How much he has pined for her. How shocked and excited he had been to discover her alive.

"Kylo, this is a bad idea-" Rey is still resisting with words. But her body arching against him tells a different story. And this is how it always goes, he knows. A few kisses and Rey is more than enthusiastic.

"I mourned you," he confesses softly into her hair. "The pain of your loss stoked my power but only made me crave you more." It's true. This woman was his greatest weakness and his greatest strength combined. And more importantly, she was his greatest love. His one true love.

"You said you didn't want this-that you didn't want me-"

Is that insecurity talking? Kylo hurries to admit the truth. "I lied to myself and to you."

One tug at the drawstring and her baggy pants fall free to puddle on the floor at her knees. Rey is bare beneath and that's a nice surprise. Kylo glances over to see the bra and panties he had sent her lying out to dry on the small bathroom sink freshly washed. Yes, today is his lucky day.

"Kylo, no!" Rey starts to panic until he slips a hand between her thighs. And now his fingers quickly quell her protests. She's moaning again now. Writhing beneath his touch. Greedy for his pleasure. Reveling in his seduction. "Go find a Snoke girl-" she halfheartedly renews her objections.

"Those girls meant nothing. None of them will ever be you," he assures her. And now he pauses to unzip because she is ready, he is ready, and this is going to happen. Right here, right now, with Rey on her knees bent over her bench. She always used to love it from behind. Rey liked her sex hot and a little rough, so Kylo aims to please. Next time, they'll do it the way he likes.

"I can't stop. I won't stop. Please don't make me stop," he warns as skin now slips against skin. He hears her breath catch at the first realization of that sensation. "Yessss . . . I need this. We need this," he purrs out his lust.

He has fantasized about their reunion for years, only never like this. It was always a romantic rendezvous in the privacy of his bedroom. On her knees truly repentant before his drawn and lit sword, Rey would beg his forgiveness, confess her forever love, and then plead for him to take her to bed. This furtive seduction in a prison cell with guards outside the door listening in isn't how Kylo wants this moment. But it's how it will go down. There will be time later for them to linger as they reacquaint their bodies. But right now, urgency prevails.

He pulls Rey back to position her better, clamping down hard on her hips. He is teasing her again but not with his fingers. "Let me in. Rey, let me in." Does she think he is talking about her body? He is talking about her mind. Kylo wants the complete experience, just like before. "Say yessss," he hisses.

Her response is an incoherent moan. Yeah, she wants this. Kylo realigns and then thrusts in hard like a Sith should. Rey whimpers, taken aback by his force. And that's when he jumps headlong into her thoughts. Tonight, he will penetrate both her mind and her body.

"Oh!" Rey recoils physically and mentally. "N-no!" He is in her mind so he knows that Rey instantly recalls the night she became his captive. The pain. The intrusion. The violation. "No!" She is frantic. Squirming as he firmly holds her tight from behind to stop her wild flailing.

"No, Rey. Not like that," he soothes. "Like we used to do this. Like before," he promises. Kylo is not pressing for her memories. He's just loitering in her mind. It's a casual intimacy that she used to welcome, but now it frightens. But it's also so damn gratifying too. For beneath Rey's mental veneer of shock, confusion, excitement, anticipation and true alarm, he detects pleasure. He's so much larger than that poor stooge Cade Biggs, she's thinking. And that makes Kylo chuckle out loud. Because tonight he's going to make Rey forget that mild mannered small-dicked business hack. Rey won't have to fake it this time around. He's going to fuck her hard and deep until she finds her Light. Yes . . . all is laid bare to him now. He sees in Rey's thoughts how lonely and bored she is, how starved she has been for affection, how she also remembers bygone days of rapture in his arms. For she has her own regrets.

He waits what feels like an eternity until Rey stops trembling. She begins to relax and he starts to move.

The time for talk is over. He is going at it now as she rests her face on the bench, eyes closed and mouth open in a small round oh. Cuffed hands and elbows before her. Rey is passive as he commits himself with vigor to the task.

His body fills hers with pleasure while his mind floods hers with love. And now the secret is out. He loves her. His mind flows over with released emotion. He never stopped loving her. And that love is why her rejection had cut so deep, why his deadly violent reaction had caused such lingering regret, why Nestor's revelation that Rey was alive and well had utterly thrown him for a loop, why his discovery of a secret son had filled him with hope for the future and for a reconciliation.

But Rey also knows his fears. Once he had feared that he would never be as strong as Darth Vader. Later, he had feared that he could not live up to Darth Plagueis' legacy. But now, Kylo fears Rey. It's why he runs from her cell after every stolen kiss. It's what haunts him during sleepless nights. And it echoes through his mind right below the conscious surface and below the millions of neurons firing off during the animal pleasure of sex. I love you. But I can't let myself love you. I won't let you hurt me. Please don't hurt me. It's humiliating vulnerability, but true. Kylo Ren may be a Sith Master, but he is human through and through. Achingly so, at times.

This mental connection is every bit as intimate as the sex act itself, and it works both ways. Kylo sees how comforted his orphan scavenger girl is by his love. For his blind devotion is what had made their affair on the _Finalizer_ so addicting. Love is why Kylo Ren had been so hard for Rey to quit and why she had tolerated his excesses. Because in these fleeting moments in his arms, anything and everything had seemed possible. He had made her want to believe. In him, in his vision for the future, in his love. But still, Rey is skittish. Annoyed because she still has on her hand restraints. Perversely guilty over being unfaithful to Cade Biggs. Concerned that she is making a terrible mistake. And very worried that she might be seduced to believe again in a future with him. Would that be good for Titus? Rey isn't sure, but that matters too. And does Kylo think that she's doing this to get out of her cell? Proud Rey wouldn't fuck for money on Jakku and she won't use her body as currency for him either. And that sort of makes Kylo smile.

All in all, this is the encouragement that Kylo so desperately needs. For he wants more than one night. He wants a future with Rey. He wants forever with Rey. Because this feeling is incredible. It is physical, it is emotional, and it is metaphysical. Sex, love and the Force. This is everything Kylo Ren has ever needed. And only one woman can give it to him.

She's grunting and moaning now. Loud, uninhibited and unmistakable sounds of sex. Damn, he had forgotten how loud Rey is. And he loves it. It eggs him on and Rey arches beneath him. Because just a little higher. He sees this in her mind, of course, and he follows her lead. This is the magic of their mental connection—there's no such thing as bad sex when your partner can read your mind.

She's so close now. He's so close now. There's just one more thing he needs. Say my name, Kylo thinks. Please . . . say my name. And then he slows down to draw out her pleasure. Kylo reaches a hand around her hip to find her from the front. It intensifies the sensation and immediately it is too much for Rey. She crests into oblivion. Screaming out his name so that his whole palace can hear. Her Light overwhelms him immediately and now Kylo is hollering too. Shocked by the potent feel of this absolution. For this is even more of a rush than he remembers. Sex and the Force with intertwined minds. It's amazing. He feels her climax as keenly as his own. But her power . . . oh, the feel of her power. Panting, Kylo throws his head back and surrenders to the Light. "Yes! Yes!" he bellows. "Heal me, love me!" This is ecstasy, euphoria and orgasm all combined. Here is a temporary balance to his Darkness. A reprieve from his loneliness. A hope for his future.

He clasps her tightly from behind, almost crouching over her as he lays his head on her shoulder. They stay there for a long moment in the magic spell of afterglow before her mind retreats from his.

"Oh, Rey," he whispers. "We're not done yet. Come, now. Come with me to my room." He still wants more. He's a Sith and he always wants more. And he's way too old to be fucking Rey on his knees over a bench in a cell. Like they are teenagers who snuck away and fear to be caught. Kylo wants Rey laid out on silken sheets with her hair splayed over his pillow. She's his wife, for Gods' sake. Well, sort of.

Rey is yanking up her pants and he's ready to scoop her up and carry her off when a sob bubbles up from deep within her.

"Hey, now. What's wrong?" He watches bewildered as the single tear that trickles out becomes a flood.

He is horrified. "Don't cry, Rey. Please don't cry."

But she can't stop. And now she is heaving out emotion. "I can't do this," Rey stammers as she reaches forward to drag a hand across the wall above her bench. What is she doing? It doesn't matter. Because all he can hear are her words. "Never again. Kylo, never again-"

"Come upstairs, Rey. I don't like this either." In fact, he sort of hates this. "I don't want to make love to my wife in a prison cell. This is not what I wanted, Rey." He reaches again to clasp her tight but she shrugs him off roughly and launches up to perch on the bench. She's doubled over now as if in pain.

"I'm not your wife," she snarls between gulping sobs. "I'm your prisoner."

And, yes, this is a bit fucked up but Kylo is ready to change it. "Rey-"

"You don't get to fuck me in my cell in chains!" She shakes her wrists and now Kylo remembers again that he had never finished unlocking her. She is still in chains. And that knowledge makes him a bit uncomfortable. "You don't get to call me wife and keep me prisoner!"

"Rey—"

"Was this your plan all along? To reduce me back to the girl I once was? So I would welcome even the slightest attention and look past your faults? Well, I refuse to be that girl again! I will never go back to being that girl again!"

She nervously reaches again to finger something on the wall and his eyes follow her movement. How had he never noticed this before? In a neat row, just above the bench are tiny tally marks scratched in. A lot of them. They are barely a centimeter high and they are unmistakably Rey. Their meaning is unmistakable too. It's Jakku. With Rey, it will always be Jakku.

Fuck.

His breath catches in his throat as realization dawns on him. This is what he has reduced Rey to. It is sobering and shocking. And heartbreaking and shaming. But most of all, it's a completely predictable result of her treatment given her past. For years, he has bemoaned Rey's inability to get past Jakku. But now, he has been the one pushing her back into that bleakness.

Fuck. How has he never noticed this before? He's only been in her cell a handful of times, but he should have noticed this.

Rey's voice is shaking now as she literally rocks back and forth. "I s-said that we could m-meditate together. I agreed to let you f-feel the Light. But y-you took it too far. You always take things too far. I h-hate that about you!"

"You loved it!" Kylo is defensive now and it's an uncomfortable and unfamiliar emotion. So he lashes out too. Because he doesn't understand where all this hostility is coming from. Rey had wanted this just as much as he did. Her Light had proven that.

"You're so aggressive! So overbearing! I take pity on you and this is how you treat me?" Rey wails. "You seduce me in a cell while I'm in c-chains."

"I didn't force you," he counters. And it's true, he didn't. Plus, just days ago she was begging for him to kiss her.

But Rey doesn't seem to see it that way. "Do you even hear what you are saying? You have the power of life or death over me and you are what separates me from my son . . . you have me a prisoner in chains in a cell . . . even my mind is not my own with you . . ." Rey shakes her head ruefully as she wipes at tears. "Everything is what you want all the time. Gods, I am such a fool." With a ragged breath, Rey pulls herself together and stares him down. "Kylo, I won't do this. You don't get to abuse me this way. I am forced to be your prisoner, but I will not be your lover."

"But Rey, I love you," he stammers out. There is a big disconnect here Kylo didn't see it coming. She is talking abuse and here he was thinking that she, like him, had been swept away in the passion of the moment. "I never stopped loving you—"

"Liar!" she accuses. "You don't treat someone you love this way! Go! Go now! Please. And never ask this of me again."

"But, Rey—"

"Please don't talk about it." She averts her cheek and now she's going for the full-on silent treatment, he knows. Rey always shuts down when she is angry.

Well, he's not going to indulge her today. They need to talk about this. Kylo straightens his clothes and settles down on the bench beside her. He fumbles around for the key he had cast aside. It's obvious he needs to get those chains off her hands ASAP. "Rey, you're looking at this all wrong," he begins. "I don't know why you are upset, but I never meant to hurt you."

"All we do is hurt each other. Don't you see? It's what we do best." Rey leaps up and crosses the room, putting as much space between them as possible.

After what they had just shared, the implicit rejection stings. But Kylo takes a deep breath and remembers the scratch marks. He endeavors to be understanding. "Rey, please. Calm down. This is good . . . tonight is good . . . we can build from this. In time, we can be a real family together with Titus-"

But Rey is too worked up. "Fuck you, Kylo! If you come into my cell again, I will fight you tooth and nail! I will not be willing."

He recoils from this suggestion. "You know I don't want that."

"Then don't come back!" Her face is ugly and hard. "Get the fuck out, Kylo! Get out!"

Her reaction is beginning to sink in and it disappoints him. Because Rey hasn't changed. Not one bit. "Sex means nothing to you, does it?" he complains bitterly. "It never did back then and it still doesn't now. You will fuck me, but you won't love me." He screws up his face in frustration. "Your Light is a lie . . . " he mutters. "And I am a fool . . ."

"If sex meant nothing, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Rey informs him.

"You want me to leave—I get it. But what else are you saying? Because you know I need the Light." Spit it out, Rey. Because he's through pretending he can predict how this woman will react to him. He always gets it wrong.

"You don't get to feel the Light! Not with me, you don't. Kylo, we are through! I will never love you. Never again. I can't . . . I just can't. Not when you treat me like this." She wipes again at her tears. "I can't believe that you think you love me but you treat me like this . . . "

"You're so damaged!" he rages at her. "You are so fucked up and damaged! I offer to you what other women only dream about and you throw it away! I want to love you, to raise our son with you, for you to be my Empress. But that's not enough for you!" He shakes his head in utter frustration. "This is about the cell? About the chains? I can fix that, Rey." He will find that key, unlock her chains, take her upstairs, and let her take a long hot shower like she used to love. And then she can lay in his arms in bed and they will work things out. "Let me fix that," he coaxes. "Because I have the power to fix that. Come upstairs now with me."

She falls silent, looking down at her bound wrists. He knows that she wants out. And he's willing to let her out if that's what it will take to make things right. As raw and angry as tonight has become, it feels very real. Sometimes in the ugliness of life, there is truth. And sometimes in conflict, there is breakthrough. For avoiding conflict sometimes just impedes its resolution.

But when Rey speaks, her voice is quiet. Resigned. "If I am damaged, then it is from you. Have you forgotten that you were the reason I ended up on Jakku? You want to make this about me. But it's not. This is about you. About your need for revenge and control."

"Rey—"

She overrides him. "No man who sticks me in a cell and reduces me to marking the wall will ever earn my love." She takes a ragged but fortifying breath. "You knew how much I feared this and you did it anyway. Because this is the sort of shit that you Sith do. And now, you manipulate me into sex too."

"Rey, come with me now upstairs. No more cell. No more chains." He means this. "Tonight, we leave this behind."

"No." She stares him down like he's a rival scavenger back on Jakku. With a steely resolve he used to admire. "I would rather be in cell than with you."

Fuck.

She repeats herself now. Doubling down on her rejection. "Kylo, I would rather be in cell than be with you."

Fuck. This fucking hurts. Moments ago, he had thought tonight was a dream of reconciliation come true. But it's a nightmare. A fucking nightmare.

Why does he keep doing this to himself? Kylo sees now that he has been a fool again. For like always, Rey is rejecting him. From their first time together when she demanded to go back to Jakku until now years later in a prison cell, she pushes him away. She will never be the woman he wants her to be. She will never love him like he needs. He has clung for far too long to the fantasy of happily ever after. But Snoke was right-there are no happy endings on the Dark Side. Not with this woman at least.

Looking now at her tearstained harsh expression, Kylo can't muster any more anger at Rey. Instead, he is angry with himself. For repeating his mistakes like a fool hoping the consequences will change. For continuing to be so weak for this woman who rejects him time and again. It galls him, diminishes him, humiliates him. For he's not a lovesick kid any more. He's a man long grown and he knows better.

No more, Kylo decides. He is through with this situation. He will salvage what he can for Titus. This was always supposed to be about Titus, he reminds himself. Kylo had just taken his eye off the ball and lost his focus. Lured again into a fantasy of happiness that he had allowed himself to believe.

"Get the Hell out! NOW!" Rey is impatient as Kylo stands there collecting what's left of himself. She is livid, her beautiful face ugly in the moment from righteous anger. Just minutes ago, Rey had been quaking in his arms screaming out his name in pleasure. And now . . . this.

He has no words for this moment. Kylo just nods slowly at her fervor. Not trusting himself to speak or to act for fear that he will murder her on the spot. He just stares long and hard before he storms off to lick his wounds.


	21. Chapter 21

Kylo is angry. Really angry. The next day, no one opens Rey's cell to take her to breakfast. No one comes the next day after that. Or the next. Vanee does not come by any more for visits. And Tom the friendly jailer won't meet her eye as he appears to confiscate her datapad. Rey loses most of her little extras now too. She gets to keep her pillow, blanket and plant. This is true solitary confinement, day after day.

And that gives Rey time to miss her son and to stew in her thoughts. Did she do the wrong thing again with Kylo? Should she have given him another chance even after all he's done? It had been more tempting than Rey had let on, for long ago she had cared far more for Kylo Ren than even she had known at the time. It's one of the reasons she had kept their child. Rey had hoped that their son would be something good to come out of the mess of them. And she had known all along how much another Skywalker prince would have mattered to Kylo. Plus, after their first baby had died, Rey couldn't bring herself to deny another child its chance at life.

For in the back of her mind, Rey has always wondered if her pregnancy was the Force at work. Was this second accidental pregnancy the universe bringing to life another Chosen One? Or was it pure coincidence that she had conceived just as she and Kylo were falling apart? Because if the girl with the Light and the hero who had fallen into Darkness could not find balance together, then maybe that meant it was time for another generation to emerge. Rey had been a student of Darth Plagueis long enough to wonder about these things. For that old Muun had known the Force and he always claimed that Light and Dark came together for a reason. More and more, Rey thinks maybe Titus was the reason she and Kylo got together in the first place. For the Skywalkers always seem to survive another generation despite long odds.

Young Titus might have been ignorant of the Force until recently, but he is quickly making up for lost time. Her boy's Force imprint has grown considerably in the past few months as his newly discovered power has flourished. That means Titus now easily finds Rey in the Force. A locked jail cell cannot block him out.

 _Mom?_ _Mom, are you there?_

 _Of course._ _I will never leave you._

 _I miss you, Mom._ _How are you?_ _Are you okay?_

 _I'm fine._ _I miss you too._ _Everything is fine down here._ _It's just boring._

 _He won't tell me why you can't come to breakfast anymore._

 _We argued._ _You know your father and I can't get along._

 _He's in a horrible mood._ _You really pissed him off._ _Look, Mom, if he won't let you out then I'm going to get you out._ _I'm working on a few things-_

 _Titus, no!_ _I mean it!_ _You will only get yourself killed._ _You're too smart for that._

 _I am more powerful than he knows._

 _Titus, no!_ _He's listening to this, remember?_ _Stay out of this._ _My issues with your father don't involve you._ _You are probably the only thing that your father and I agree upon._ _We both want what's best for you._

 _Mom, he leaves me alone with the books a lot-_

 _Titus, I won't listen to this._

 _But, Mom-_

She breaks the connection. Titus gets the message. He contacts her a few times a day after that to cheer her up. Telling her about school mostly. There is no more talk of breaking her out.

Despite those fleeting conversations with Titus, Rey is still more alone now than when she was on Jakku. Bored in her cell for days on end, she seeks comfort in the Force. She floats for hours in the mental comfort of meditation. Taking refuge in the universal consciousness of the Light for the belonging and company she needs. It rekindles her interest long lain dormant. If ever I get out of here, Rey promises herself, I will learn the Force. So she can properly teach her son and so that she will never again be at the mercy of Kylo Ren.

One morning early, her cell door opens and it's Vanee. Rey bursts into a happy smile and enthusiastic welcome, but the old man cuts her off. "Rey, you are being transferred." He looks stressed as he tells her this. And looking over his shoulder, Rey sees stormtroopers waiting in the hallway.

She has a bad feeling about this. "Where?"

"I do not yet know. Rey, do not fear. Wherever you are, we will make it livable. I promise."

"I'm leaving Titus?" The consequence of a move now dawns on Rey. "No!" she cries. "No, I won't go!"

"Come on, old man. We're late as it is." This is the voice of an impatient trooper who marches into her cell. "Someone get this traitor bitch in cuffs and let's get going. I don't want to get written up."

Vanee instantly takes offense. "Watch your manners, Corporal! Do you know who this is?"

The trooper doesn't care. "This is a prisoner I'm supposed to transport. That's all that matters."

Vanee bristles some more. "The princess is a member of the family. You will treat her with more respect." Vanee looks the man over with disdain before he decides, "I will accompany the princess to the landing pad."

"Suit yourself."

They are in a hurry so just Rey's hands are cuffed. Then, she is marched to the palace landing pad where a military transport awaits. As soon as they arrive, Vanee demands to see the officer in charge and starts pumping him for information. Rey waits off to the side observing and straining to hear above the sound of idling ion engines. Soon, Vanee is arguing fast and loud and that is very unlike him. And when Vader's old servant starts pulling rank, Rey's sense of danger is pricked.

"This prisoner is under my charge. She is a member of the Imperial family and a princess of the blood. I will accompany her personally. She will not be transported with these common criminals!"

"We have specific orders, old man. She is to be treated like all the rest. Move along."

"Orders from who?" Vanee is indignant.

"The Emperor himself."

Vanee takes a deep breath and looks over at her. Then he moves faster than she's ever seen him move before, reaching her side to mutter in her ear. "Rey, whatever you do, don't get on that transport-" Vanee warns and that's enough for spooked Rey to summon the Force.

She doesn't have a weapon, so she improvises. But as soon as the Imperial guard with the pike to her back begins to choke, someone fires a blaster shot her way. It's almost as if they were expecting her to resist. Rey successfully freezes the first three shots but loses concentration as she diverts her focus on opening her cuffs with the Force. The fourth shot gets through. It's a glancing stun bolt to Rey's side. Not enough to drop her to the ground but sufficient to weaken her considerably. The recovering Imperial guard tackles Rey as a trooper lands a punch to her jaw. Between the punch and the stun shot, Rey is seeing stars. Out of sheer desperation, she manages to freeze the next stun shot coming her way. But the second sails right past it to land a hit on her chest. Rey slumps as she cries out. She struggles to cling to consciousness but then another stun bolt hits and everything fades to black. Rey knows no more . . .

How long is she out? Rey doesn't know. She comes awake slowly at the sound of a woman shrieking her name. She has no idea where she is or what is happening.

"Rey! It's Rey! Oh, Gods, look! It's Rey!"

The voice is Cesi Flick. The normally completely camera aware, meticulously mannered, and always serene First Lady of the galaxy is screaming her name from a short distance away. And, not surprisingly, she is issuing orders.

"Nestor, get the boy out of here! Get him out of here! NOW! And do something!"

The voice echoes loudly through Rey's pounding head, ringing in her ears. Rey blinks and then recoils as rough hands reach for her.

"Wake her up, droid. Give her another stim shot. There are only four more before her. She needs to look alive for the cameras."

Something sharp is jabbed in her side. Rey flinches and cries out in response. Seconds later, she is wide awake and panting with instant adrenaline, both real and artificially administered. Still in her cuffs, Rey is hauled to her feet. She looks around, confused. "Where am I?"

"You've got a date with the Emperor himself, sweetheart," someone laughs at their own joke. "It's Empire Day."

Empire Day. Oh. There's only one thing that involves prisoners on Empire Day, Rey knows. She takes a deep, gulping breath as panic starts to rise. Has it really come to this? Yes, apparently, it has. This is the consequence of rejecting Kylo Ren's advances. This is what she gets for sleeping with him one last time. Payback is a bitch on the Dark Side. Especially when you break a Sith's heart.

Rey looks around with horrified eyes at the giant Coruscant Arena she stands in. From her vantage point in the center near the Imperial dais, the arena looks a lot bigger than it does watching on the holonet. This is where Rey had watched a pod race with the Flick family, but today it serves an entirely different purpose. The giant screens no longer blare advertisements and sports scores, instead they broadcast the action from the dais nearby. This is where Chancellor Flick gives his annual State of the Galaxy speech before Emperor Ren passes judgment on the condemned. Nestor's speech must be over now, Rey realizes as she watches Kylo's iconic red sword streak down to the crowd's deafening cheers. Thus ends another enemy of the state, an announcer exclaims. Rey winces at the grisly scene she can clearly see in her line of sight. This is the bloodsport that the whole galaxy watches each year on the holonet. This is the drama of Empire Day. And now Rey is one of the unfortunates come to plead for clemency while the crowd heaps on scorn.

She watches in silent terror as one by one the remaining among the condemned are called up to kneel as supplicants before Emperor Ren. The procedure is the same each time. First each prisoner's crimes are detailed and the crowd boos long and hard. The first two men are announced to have been convicted of espionage, the third has confessed to inciting insurrection in the Mid Rim, and the fourth is a former senior military officer court-martialed for gross insubordination. Each man is ritually asked 'what do you ask of your Emperor?' as Kylo Ren holds his lit sword over their head. The condemned makes the standard reply 'mercy, your Excellency' and then hopes for the best.

"Statistically, there is a 33.7 percent chance of pardon overall," a ghoulish stormtrooper at her side informs Rey. "But after this year, that number is going down."

Yes, Rey sees. For one by one, each of the four men she watches climb the dais is denied their request. Darth Ren the Just is not in a forgiving mood. And judging by the pile of headless bodies dragged off to the side, no one yet seems to have been granted a pardon.

And now, way too soon, it is Rey's turn. She is dragged up the steps and thrust to her knees at Kylo's feet as camera droids zoom about to capture her every expression. Women prisoners with capital sentences are somewhat rare. That ups the novelty and probably the ratings too.

"Why is this prisoner injured?" Kylo asks. And that's when Rey becomes aware of her bruised jaw and split lip.

"She put up a fight, Sir."

"Yes, she would." Kylo is cold and unmoved. He nods to the announcer and her turn begins.

Rey listens blankly as she struggles to remain calm and to summon her courage. This is all happening so fast. She ought to be nervous, but truthfully, she is numb. Her life is spinning out of control.

 _This enemy of the state is her Sith Highness, Renata Pam Palpatine, adopted daughter to Supreme Leader Snoke, wife to Kylo Ren, and Empress of the Second Galactic Empire._ _Guilty by her own confession of high treason for aiding and abetting the Resistance and the New Republic, for conspiring with the Jedi Luke Skywalker, for attempting the assassination of Kylo Ren, and for inflicting permanent bodily harm._ _She was captured as a fugitive from justice and sentenced to death._ _By the grace of Emperor Ren, her punishment was temporarily commuted to life imprisonment._

It's a rush of official words but also a bombshell announcement too. The arena of many thousands is suddenly quiet. Eyes strain to catch a better view. For no one had anticipated this last prisoner would be so noteworthy.

"Prisoner, what do you ask of your Emperor?" the announcer prompts the standard colloquy to begin.

Rey swallows hard and raises her chin. She knows the expected answer. But staring deep into the silver visor of Kylo's mask, Rey hesitates. The word mercy just refuses to come out. She's a survivor but she's also a fighter. Begging has never been her style and she's not going to do it now. Plus, nothing about Kylo's demeanor suggests that he will spare her. She will be his twentieth and final victim today either way, she fears. And so, Rey of Jakku is defiant. She says the first thing that comes into her mind. It's the first of many things that will be different about this particular prisoner.

"Get that thing out of my face! I want lightning, Kylo, not the sword." Her words are snappish and quick from extreme anxiety. "If you're going to kill me, I ought to at least get to choose how," she grumbles.

Kylo's reply is cold. "Force users die by the sword. You know that."

Rey raises an eyebrow at this. Irked that her status as wife doesn't at least merit a last request. Her heart is pounding in her chest, but somehow her voice remains steady. "Lightning was good enough for Luke Skywalker. It's good enough for me. This is being broadcast live, right? Give the people a show, Kylo."

"This isn't Jakku. You don't get to bargain, Rey. You get the sword like all the rest." Kylo is doing his best Sith posturing now. Intoning before the crowd and cameras like some wise adjudicator with admirable scruples, "No one in my Empire is above the law. Not even you, wife."

"What do you ask of your Emperor?" the announcer prompts a second time.

Again, she hesitates. This time she is reconsidering. It's a hard thing to tempt death for this survivor from Jakku.

"Well?" Kylo sounds impatient. "Answer the question."

After a long soul-searching moment, again Rey speaks off-script. "Take me back home. I want to go to Jakku," she says dully. "Leave my body in a wreck. I will be with the rest of those who died for your family and their wars."

"Answer the question," Kylo growls as he edges the sword closer. "Say it, Rey. Say it."

"What do you ask of your Emperor?" the announcer prompts a third time.

Annoyed that this is dragging out, heartbroken that she never had a chance to say goodbye to Titus, and thoroughly pissed off at Kylo Ren, Rey starts spitting out truth. "I want freedom!" she cries. "I don't want your mercy, Kylo. I want freedom! I was free on Jakku. If I cannot be free in life, then I will be free in the desert in death. Free of you!"

"What do you ask of your Emperor?" Kylo himself now snarls out the ritual words.

Rey ignores him. She won't use the remaining time she has left arguing. Her lower lip starts trembling uncontrollably and tears start to fall as she manages, "Tell Titus that I love him. I will w-watch over him in the Force. Tell him to look for the F-Force and he will always find me."

The red sword tip inches closer still and its crackle and buzz fills Rey's ears. "Rey, say it. Beg!"

Were all those days of true solitary supposed to make her grateful for this chance at reprieve? If so, then the plan backfired. Because Rey shakes her head. "I won't beg. I didn't beg to Snoke and I sure as Hell won't beg to you. You're not half the Sith old Darth Plagueis was."

"Stubborn to the end," Kylo observes. "You give me no choice." And now his sword flashes high for the killing stroke. The crowd is now especially hushed. This is everything that they came to see and more. For this is a far more dramatic moment than usual.

"Say it, Rey." He gives her one last chance.

She refuses to be bullied further by this man. Rey closes her eyes and seeks the Force. Soon, she will be one with the Force. And at least it will be instant. But this needs to happen now because Rey feels physically sick. Like she might faint of dread if this takes any longer.

"NO!"

It's Titus. Rey's concentration breaks and her head jerks in the direction of her son's cry. Titus is climbing fast up the steps to the dais. The guards rush him, but the boy spins and pivots like he's on the soccer field to elude their grip. Throwing out a hand here and there to push hard with the Force any who actually get close. The closer he gets to the Emperor, the more guards attempt to intercept him. And now guns are drawn and pikes are raised even though it's obvious he is just a kid. But still, the boy eludes them all.

"NO! DON'T!" he hollers. "That's my mother! You will not take her from me!"

Rey watches, open-mouthed in utter horror. This feels almost dream-like. Hazy and indistinct. As if she is watching in slow motion and not real time.

It's clear now how her son had won scuffle after scuffle for years outnumbered by bigger kids at school. And that was before Titus had been taught deadly force. Before he had been desperate. So when the Imperial guard who hovers behind Rey turns on the boy, Titus opens his palm and the Force tugs the guard's weapon directly into his grip. With another Force assist in strength and speed, Titus thrusts the lit Force pike right through the red armored chest of the guard. Then Titus stands tall before the galaxy and his father.

More troopers and guards rush forward and now actual shots are fired. Panicked Rey freezes the blaster bolts she sees and someone else freezes the rest. Is it Titus? Could it have been Kylo? Standing behind Rey, her boy takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and concentrates. The Force fairly crackles around them as Darkness leaps to do the young man's bidding. The incoming assailants all fall to their knees choking and gurgling for a few brief seconds before they slump to the ground.

Kylo looks on in silence. His sword still raised to swing.

Titus opens his palm and a downed trooper's blaster flies into his grip. The boy says one word now. It comes out quiet and emphatic. "Stop."

Kylo repositions his sword now, ready to defend against his son's weapon. A mere three meters separates them, with Rey on her knees in between. When other guards appear on the scene Kylo waves them off. He will handle this himself.

Father and son stare one another down until finally, Kylo speaks. "Impressive . . . most impressive. But you need a better plan than that blaster. It's no match against this sword. Now, step aside. I'm still waiting for your mother to beg for my mercy so we can all go home." Kylo turns back to her. "Rey, I grow tired of asking, so this will be the last time. What do you ask of your Emperor?"

"Titus, put the gun down!" Rey hisses as she half turns to peer up at her son. "Put the gun down and back away!"

"That's good advice," Kylo concurs, like this is some teachable moment around the family kitchen table and no one has a weapon drawn. Like he isn't a Skywalker father facing the threat of deadly force from his own Skywalker son. "Listen to your mother. You can't kill me. Now put the gun down."

"The blaster isn't for you," Titus announces as he raises the gun to his own temple.

Rey loses it. "OH MY GODS!—"

"Just how good are your reflexes, Master? See if you can stop this blaster bolt," the boy challenges.

Rey comes unglued. "NO! Titus, NO! What are you doing? This won't help me!"

But the budding Sith stands his ground and ignores her beseeching cries. "Power is all he cares about, Mother. It's the only thing he loves. This is the only leverage there is against him." Titus nods to his caped and masked father. "Your move."

"Kylo, do something!" Rey wails, suddenly realizing that she might have an ally in her ostensible enemy. "Do something!" She turns again to implore her son, "Titus, this isn't the solution—"

"Sure, it is. He wants my power. He's only using me for my power. And I can take that power away."

"But you'll die—"

"If you die, I die, Mom." And now the mask of bravado slips as Titus looks down at Rey. Titus sounds like the child of twelve he still is and not the young man he is pretending to be. His face crumples up. "Mom, you loved me without the Force. For who I am. Not for who I can be for you. I will be one with the Force with you."

Kylo remains silent so Rey rushes to do the parenting. "NO! Titus, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don't do this! I don't want you to do this! I forbid you to do this!" And why isn't Kylo doing something? Rey whirls to order Emperor Ren around like she's the one in charge, "Do something, you Sith asshole! He is your son and he is the Chosen One!"

But Kylo remains silent. With his mask on, Rey can't see Kylo's face to judge his reaction. Is he going to go through with this? Because Titus might actually go through with this. And now, suddenly, the words that would not come before fall easily from Rey's lips. "Have mercy, Kylo, I beg your mercy!" Rey is on her knees with trembling hands clasped beneath her chin, the picture of the penitent sinner. "Pardon me so he will live. He's just a boy!"

Kylo grunts as he observes, "That boy just snapped the necks of six men with the Force."

Is Kylo impressed? Is he threatened? "Kylo, he will never rival your power. You know that. But he's your son. Don't let him do this! You need him for the future-"

Emperor Ren interrupts. "He's bluffing."

But Rey isn't so sure and she can't take the risk that she is wrong. For like his father, Titus takes things too far. And that has Rey very worried about how this stalemate will play out. Rey has little confidence that either father or son will have the cool presence of mind to back down. And so, more beseeching words rush out from her lips. "Kylo, I was wrong and I am sorry!" She is desperate now and babbling out words. "I will be your Light again . . . I will be your wife . . . I will be your Empress . . . I will go to the temple and you can slash my hand. You can keep me in a cell, you can keep me in Vader's castle, I don't care and I won't try to escape. Just don't let him do this! Kylo, please! Spare me to spare him."

"He's bluffing." Kylo dismisses his boy out of hand and Rey can sense young Titus stiffen behind her. "This is over, Rey. It was over a long time ago." Kylo now resumes the task at hand. "May the Force be with you, wife."

As Kylo shifts from a defensive stance to strike mode, Rey tries one last ditch effort. It comes out shrill. "I will love you! I promise to try to love you again—"

Kylo seems to hesitate, but only briefly. "Leave us some dignity. If we have any left after this."

Frantically, Rey searches for any remaining avenues of appeal. "He's a Skywalker! Snoke wouldn't want you to do this. Kylo, he and Vader will haunt you in the Force if you do this! Those men died so that your family could continue. Don't throw away their sacrifice because you are angry with me!"

Kylo sounds impatient again. "Rey, the kid is bluffing. He doesn't even have the safety off."

And that remark prompts Titus to slide his thumb over to unlock the weapon. The boy stares up into his father's mask. "Pardon her, Master. Or you will lose us both."

"Kylo, mercy, please!" Rey is more subdued now, quieted by her son's steely calm. "Have mercy, for his sake."

Kylo seems annoyed with this ongoing scene. "Put the gun down, Titus. I know that neck snapping trick too. I could use it right now to snap your wrist. You won't get a chance to blow your head off." Kylo waits a moment for that information to sink in. And then again, he's in weirdly patient teaching mode. "Now, what's your next move, kid?" He asks this as if it's a hypothetical scenario he and Titus are thinking through together and not life or death drama.

The boy is silent as he considers. "If you kill my mother, I will take my time and learn it all. And when you are least suspecting, I will kill you and claim your Empire for my own." Titus nods as he commits himself to this strategy, restating it for emphasis. "If you take away my mother, then one day I will take away your power. We will both lose what we love. And I will have my revenge."

Silence hangs heavy in the air a long moment as Rey holds her breath for what happens next.

"Please, Kylo . . . have mercy . . . " she pleads.

Slowly Kylo lowers his weapon. Then extinguishes it. He nods approvingly at his son now. "Well played. I will make a Sith of you yet, son. In time, you will be a credit to your name." Kylo waves a gloved hand in Rey's direction now and her handcuffs fall away with the help of the Force. "You are pardoned for your crimes and for your treachery. Go forth and sin no more, Empress."

"You mean it?" Titus is skeptical. "You're really letting her out of the cell?"

"Yes."

"Good." Her son's relief is audible in just that one word. He lowers his blaster and thrusts it to the ground. "Mom, let's go. Before he changes his mind." Titus holds out a hand to help trembling Rey to her feet. The boy makes to lead her away but Kylo intervenes.

"Oh, no. Your mother is still mine. She will always be mine."

Titus gives his father a long angry and frustrated look. He's about to speak when Nestor Ren reaches his side. The Chancellor lays a heavy hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come away with me, son," Nestor says quietly. "Let's you and I take a walk." With one last brutal look at his father, Titus relents and complies.

Rey watches him go. She is free now, but it matters little. For she is deeply concerned for her son. Moved by the valiant boy who loves her enough to stand up to the most feared man in the galaxy. And fearing for him too. For strewn around her is the aftermath of her son's carnage. Twelve years old and he's snapping grown men's necks with the Force. So Dark and so young. So lost and so alone.

"Kylo, you are the worst husband and father ever," Rey accuses as she watches Nestor shepherd away her son. "You've made a monster of him already, haven't you?"

"No, but I'm working on it," Kylo lays on his sarcasm thick. "And you've certainly done your part, Rey."

Does she bear the blame for this too? Well, maybe some, Rey realizes.

"Now, my prodigal princess, welcome back into my good graces. I have missed you." Kylo steps closer as he says this and he waves a hand. Still distracted watching her son, Rey reacts a split second too late to protect herself from his Force sleep. She sinks gracefully as Kylo sweeps her legs out from under her. The whole galaxy watches the denouement of this very juicy scene, with Emperor Ren carrying off his pardoned prisoner wife in his arms. As he tromps down the dais he beckons to the white-faced and visibly outraged Lady Flick. "My lady, you are needed."


	22. Chapter 22

Rey wakes in a bedroom and the first person she sees is Cesi Flick.

"Where am I?"

"In the palace."

"You are safe, my dear." This is old Vanee who appears now over Lady Flick's shoulder.

"How do you feel, your Excellency?" This is the robotic neutral male voice of a droid. Rey looks around and sees a Two-One-Bee medic unit hovering over her other shoulder. Rey is alarmed and confused. She keeps looking around. Searching for Kylo.

"The droid means you," Cesi tells her flatly.

"Oh." Rey is bewildered. "I'm fine." She sits up now and surveys her surroundings. "This isn't the cell," she says softly.

"You are free, my dear." Old Vanee smiles at her gently. "You were pardoned. Do you remember?"

Yes, she remembers now. And she has a frantic question. "Where is Titus? Where is my son?"

"Titus is fine," Cesi answers with a reassuring smile. "Absolutely fine."

"The young Master is with his father," Vanee explains and then hastens to add. "Be at ease, Rey. They are watching the parade together."

She must still look concerned because Cesi chimes in, "Rey, I promise that Titus is fine."

"Oh."

"What about you? Are you really fine?" Cesi asks. "Because if you are fine, then we need to get started. We've only got about four hours. That's not much time. Come," she beckons Rey to stand and leads her across the spacious room. Lady Flick activates a set of double doors that open to an adjacent room full of people waiting. At the sight of still groggy Rey in her prison togs, everyone takes a knee and lowers their eyes.

Rey whirls around, looking again for Kylo. She's very nervous about seeing Kylo.

Cesi leans in. "Rey, they are kneeling to you. You are the Empress. Everyone knows now."

"Oh."

"Arise, good people," Vanee intones with a gravitas that befits the proud longtime servant of Lord Vader.

"Who are they?" Rey turns to Cesi.

"This is my glam squad. Well, our glam squad. We're both be using them. Eight hundred of Emperor Ren's esteemed guests will be arriving this evening. His Excellency has requested your presence."

"Oh."

And now Lady Flick starts taking charge. "Don't fiddle with that bacta patch. Your lip is healing. In another few hours, it should look okay for makeup. But get in the shower, Rey. We have a lot to do. And how do you feel about red? I remember you looking good in red. It was short notice but I asked for an assortment of dresses, but lots in red." When Rey doesn't answer, Cesi prompts her, "Rey?"

But Rey isn't attending. The holonet screen on the wall is playing continuous coverage of the Empire Day festivities. Rey walks over to watch the images of dignitaries reviewing the troops at the annual First Order military parade. The camera keeps lingering on the caped and masked figure of Kylo Ren. Beside Emperor Ren sits the stone-faced boy the whole holonet now knows as his rebellious and deadly young son.

"He looks okay," Rey says aloud with clear relief.

"Titus is fine, Rey," Cesi repeats again.

While the Emperor's surprise kid remains a mystery to all, his surprise wife does not. The holonet now cuts away split screen from the parade to show pictures and video of Rey in her princess days. Here is Rey handing out toys to children in detention. Here is Rey disembarking from Kylo's old command shuttle. Rey recognizes some of the material from the old Coruscant wartime propaganda newsfeeds but much of the footage looks to have been taken from _Finalizer_ security cameras. To accompany this looping slideshow is a palace press release that confirms Rey to be the longtime estranged and imprisoned wife of Emperor Ren. Known to Occupied Coruscant as Kylo Ren's princess sister, she was indeed the adopted daughter of Supreme Leader Snoke and a sister of sorts to Kylo Ren, Snoke's de facto son.

From the breathless, scandal hungry tone of the coverage, it's clear that the media finds Rey to be far more interesting than a parade. It's only been a few hours, but somehow even in Kylo's tightly controlled media environment, long ago unconfirmed rumors of an affair with Armitage Hux surface. There are whispers about Rey and Hux running away to the Resistance. Is this the reason she was imprisoned? No one is quite sure and it doesn't seem to fit with the timeline of events showing her involved in Nestor Flick's attempts at peace negotiations. The on-air palace spokesman only provides vague answers. No one is above the law in the New Empire, the spokesman repeatedly contends. All are equal. And so, even the wife of Kylo Ren must pay her debt to society and atone for her crimes. Darth Ren the Just is a fair man, and no one gets special treatment from him. The holonet hosts, of course, all rush to applaud and agree. Praise be to his Excellency. Long live Emperor Ren.

"Kylo must have had the PR guys prepared for today," Cesi comments as she watches a few moments of the coverage alongside Rey.

"Maybe he was never going to kill me," Rey says softly. "He wouldn't have gone to all this trouble to explain if he was going to kill me."

"Rey," Cesi Flick's tone means business. "If this is any indication, then everyone will be staring at you tonight. So, let's get started. Get in the shower." As Rey heads for the bathroom, she hears Lady Flick speak sharply as she tells someone to turn that screen off.

Hours later, Rey has a haircut, a manicure, and a pedicure. She has been plucked, waxed, massaged, moisturized, and deep conditioned. She stands before a rack of gowns as Cesi examines and rejects one after another. Too shiny, too sexy, too dowdy, too revealing, too old, too busy looking. Lady Flick is thoroughly unimpressed and more than a little frustrated as the clock keeps ticking. I think the designers must have thought these were for me when my assistant called, Cesi complains. My assistant specified sample size, but everything here is sized for me. Even if any of this might work, Cesi moans, it would be way too large. Vanee comes to the rescue when he produces Rey's white caped gown she wore as Mrs. Cade Biggs, now washed clean of bloodstains. It too is big now, but Cesi's team pins Rey into the dress to tailor it to her current super slim figure. Then someone produces a droid to sew it.

Rey frowns at this task. Embarrassed by how skinny she has become. How Jakku.

"It's perfect. And very you," Cesi declares brightly. Lady Flick is trying very hard to keep things upbeat. But her relentless cheer succeeds in conveying to Rey just how concerned she is. Plus, Cesi hasn't said a thing about what occurred earlier and it's a glaring omission. Everyone keeps pretending that Rey wasn't on her knees with a sword hanging over her head just hours ago.

"What do we think? Hair down, deep side part and waves? Or low wrapped ponytail teased and crimped on the ends? Are we doing classic glamour or edgy cool?" Cesi looks Rey over as she continues thinking aloud. "I vote glamour for tonight. We . . . ah . . . might need to soften your image a bit after this morning." Lady Flick looks questioningly to her team and they all concur. Tonight, Rey is being dressed by committee. "Good."

Now Cesi smiles as an assistant re-enters the room carrying a large box. It's Lady Flick's personal jewelry box. Cesi starts rummaging through it furiously. "I'm not sending you out there unless you look like an Empress, Rey," her friend vows with determination. "The galaxy's beautiful and brave Empress." She plucks out large, glittering chandelier earrings and an eye popping bold cuff bracelet. "These will be perfect for that dress. Simple and bold. They will look great on camera."

Rey fingers the costly jewels, thinking of the holonet coverage she had watched earlier. "I don't think I can do this," she confides in a near whisper. For the more she thinks about what had happened, the more upset she becomes.

But Lady Flick is having none of it. "Of course, you can. If you can tell off Kylo Ren as the whole galaxy watches and survive your own execution, you can do this. Piece of cake, Rey."

"I slept with him," Rey whispers another truth.

"I figured." Cesi nods. "Here, this too." Lady Flick yanks off her own wedding rings and hands them over. "You need to look married, especially after this morning. With your scrawny fingers, we'll have to wrap a string on the inside to make them fit. But don't worry, no one will see." Cesi gives Rey a serious look now. "Don't lose them. They are the least expensive things here, but I value them the most."

When the beauty team is finally through, Cesi and Rey stand together before the mirror critically surveying the results.

"We clean up pretty well, eh? That's really a great dress, Rey. You look amazing."

"It's old," Rey admits. "I bought it on Kuat years ago for some gala."

"A local designer? Well, you're about to make whoever they are very famous. And there will be no cause to worry that anyone tonight will be wearing your same dress." Cesi gives Rey a quick encouraging hug. "Now, come. Let's do this. Just get through the next few hours and then you can fall apart."

Together, Cesi and Rey walk to the ceremonial rooms of the palace. The others in the forty-person receiving line of dignitaries are already assembled and waiting. Cesi and Vanee walk Rey down the entire line to greet everyone. No one knows what to say to the pardoned Empress but everyone is very curious. Some even look sympathetic. But it's uncomfortable. Rey has never felt so on display. She smiles and shakes hands and automatically reverts to her princess days. Luckily, all the pomp and circumstance means her interactions are brief and superficial. Rey doesn't have to actually hold a conversation with anyone.

"How do you do this day in, day out?" Rey whispers to Cesi when they are done.

"You get used to it. Look, here is Titus. Hug but no kiss. Don't mess the lipstick, Rey," Cesi calls after her.

Rey ignores this advice as she hurries to her son's side. "Let me look at you." She pulls back to get a better look. Titus is dressed like a young prince tonight. Black, of course, with a short cape. Very Sith. "Are you okay? Really okay?" Rey demands in the tone of a worried mother. "What happened after-"

"I'm okay," the boy interrupts. "Mom, he wasn't even that mad. It was weird. It was like he was proud."

Yes, Kylo had been proud, Rey knows. "I can't believe you did that! Never, ever do something like that—"

"You're alive, aren't you? And out of that cell. It worked, Mom. That's all that matters." Titus brushes off her concerns.

But Rey isn't about to let up. "Never do that again—"

"Look, I got what I wanted," the boy contends. He doesn't look the least bit contrite.

"But you killed all those men," Rey reminds him softly.

"Better them than me. I did what I had to do, and the ends justify the means," the boy announces flatly. The tone and the words are very Kylo Ren.

"Oh . . . " Rey takes a deep breath. "Oh, Titus, you don't mean that . . . "

"I do." Titus says without hesitation. "Besides, it was quick and clean. Just like he taught me."

Rey takes a step back to look at her boy who is still very much a child even if there are shades of the young man he will become. Suddenly, she doesn't recognize her own son. For she raised a boy who occasionally brawls at school, not a kid who efficiently kills without remorse. "You're him, aren't you?" Rey says hoarsely. In disbelief and disappointment. It's like a punch to the gut. "You're him already. My boy is gone and he's a Sith . . . "

And now, young Titus is defensive. "No, Mom," he argues loudly. "I'll never be him! I'm you! I'm doing what I have to do to survive. To keep us safe and together." Her half-grown boy looks her in the eye. "It's like you on Jakku."

"Oh, Titus . . . " Rey doesn't know what to say to this misguided, well intentioned kid. But she worries that she is about to ruin all the eye makeup that has been painstakingly applied.

Her boy looks red-faced and a bit sheepish as he says for her ears alone. "I love you, Mom. And I meant what I said. I will kill anyone who hurts you. Even him."

And this too is more good intentions gone awry. Rey is alarmed. But she knows she cannot have this conversation here. "We will talk about this more in private," she tells Titus. "Not now. But later."

Titus nods. "Okay. You look pretty, Mom. Like before except for the hair. It's pretty . . . for a mom, I mean." Rey smiles and again worries for her eye makeup. For this awkward compliment means far more to Rey than the extravagant praise of Cesi's glam squad who no doubt felt compelled to admire their handiwork. She relents a little. "Titus, I'm not happy about what you did. But thank you. We will talk about this later."

Cesi appears now with an assistant for a quick makeup touchup. As far as Rey can tell, Cesi never goes anywhere without at least one eager young female assistant marching in her wake. Satisfied, Cesi tells Rey that things are about to begin. It's time to take their places. The long prestigious receiving line culminates at the Imperial throne. Guests are presented to kneel briefly before the Emperor himself. And this year, guests will kneel before the newly revealed Imperial family. Cesi and Vanee position Rey to stand behind the Emperor's right shoulder. The reluctant, fidgeting Titus is positioned behind the Emperor's left shoulder.

Soon, the Emperor himself appears with Nestor Flick. Rey stiffens as Cesi hurries to whisper in her ear, "Play it cool. You are the Empress now, not some desperate prisoner. Do not give everyone the fight they want to see."

It's good advice and Kylo appears to be taking it too. He looks Rey over a moment. With his helmet on, Rey can't see his expression. "It's good to see you back where you belong," is all he says.

Rey eyes him before speaking her frosty response. "I used to sit on that throne."

"Yes. And you will again." Kylo turns now to Titus. "Try not to snap anyone's neck, kid. This is a party not a battlefield. The executions are over for today."

With those instructions, Kylo seats himself and nods over to Vanee. The great doors at the end of the room open and the evening begins.

When the official palace portrait from this glittering affair is later released, it shows Kylo Ren seated with his arms outstretched resting on his throne. The Emperor's face is hidden behind his expressionless mask but the sword he used to kill nineteen men that day is clearly visible at his waist. Behind him stands his traitor princess wife in white. Her dress, hair and makeup project a demure beauty that is completely at odds with the openly defiant look in her eye and the raised tilt to her chin. Whoever this woman is and whatever she has done, she looks like she hasn't learned her lesson. To the Empress' left stands their young son. Skinny and sullen with awkward features and longish, wild hair. He looks slightly away from the camera, as if unwilling to participate further in this day. This uneasy trio has today been publicly revealed to be the current generation of Skywalkers. They are the first family of the Force and they are here to rule us all or die trying.

With eight hundred guests, the evening drags on for hours. When the receiving line finally ends, Kylo is done. Emperor Ren rarely attends social events and when he does, he merely makes an appearance before he promptly departs. He leaves the entertaining to Cesi and Nestor Flick.

Has anything changed? Cesi Flick wants to know. "Will you be joining Nestor and I for the evening?" She asks the question of Rey but directs it to Kylo.

"No," he decides. "Kid, go to bed. It's been a long day," he tells his son. Then he beckons to Rey forward. "Come."

Cesi and Nestor depart to host the party, Titus stomps off in a hurry to be away, and she and Kylo walk together in silence through the palace. Rey is wondering what's coming next, but a little afraid to ask. Nothing about today has been predictable and so she mentally prepares herself for anything. Even her cell. Because she wouldn't put it past Kylo to renege and stick her back in her cell.

"What is this?" Rey asks as finally they come to a halt before a set of doors. Rey only knows the way from the basement to the breakfast room. She's unfamiliar with the rest of the palace since she's only been marched a few other places.

"These are the Empress' chambers. This is where you will live."

"Oh." Rey has a vague memory of Vanee years ago with plans for the palace. Back then, she and Kylo were to share a bedroom. But somewhere along the way, that plan must have been revised. Probably after she left.

Kylo depresses the door mechanism and ushers her in. Then he drags off his helmet. "I was never going to kill you, Rey. You should know that. It was always my intention to pardon you."

"Seriously?" Instantly, Rey is angered. Because is she supposed to be grateful? If so, she doesn't feel it. Rey looks at Kylo resentfully. "Then what the fuck was that all about?" she demands. "Why would you put us through that stunt? You could have pardoned me in private, Kylo."

He is unrepentant. "I wanted to make an impression. But once Titus came on the scene, I let it play out a bit to see where it went. I always press the advantage while it's working," he reminds her.

"So you were just fucking with me, is that it?" Rey is incensed.

He gives her a pointed look. "If you had submitted in the first place, it would have gone much easier."

Rey puts a hand on her hip and cocks her head. "Did you really think I would?"

"Yes, I did," Kylo admits. He's a little sheepish. "I thought that you would choose to live. Because you always choose to survive, Rey. That's what you do." Kylo gives a little rueful grunt as he fingers his heavy helmet and sighs. "You survived today too, just not in the fashion that I anticipated. I get you wrong a lot, Rey. You surprise me still."

Rey eyes him without enthusiasm. "You don't know me as well as you think you do."

"Yes," he concedes. "I keep finding that out." Kylo now shrugs off the gravity of today's very public scene. "I can deal with today. It provides the narrative to explain your absence. I look merciful, you look like a devoted mother, maybe something of a long-suffering heroine to some. If you are my bad attitude Empress, then people will know the context. My kid son is introduced to the galaxy as the deadly Force user he will become. All in all, it is fine. PR is all over the spin and so far it's going over fine."

Fine? That was a horrifyingly public embarrassment as far as Rey is concerned. The galaxy had been introduced to her on her knees in handcuffs, shrill and screaming while her son killed people with the Force and then threatened suicide. For a woman who had disdained being the Empress under the best of circumstances, today has made the job a whole lot less appealing. Rey shakes her head in frustration that Kylo can't see this. As usual, Kylo is only seeing things through his own perspective. "Today was a nightmare," she bluntly informs him. "We are exposed for the dysfunctional, murderous Skywalkers that we are."

Again, Kylo shrugs. "I don't need to be wholesome. I need to be feared and to be respected. I'm the bad cop of the galaxy, Rey. Nestor is my good cop. He and Cesi are the role models for others to emulate and the press to fawn over. No one gets to emulate us." Kylo is a bit indignant at the very prospect. "We are Force users. We are Skywalkers. We are different. You know that."

"What did you say to Titus afterwards?" Rey demands. She needs to know what she suspects her son will not tell her.

Kylo dodges the question. "I pardoned you for Titus. Because you are the conflict between us and I do not want a son who hates me and wants to kill me. That was never what Snoke intended for our family, but generation after generation it seems to occur. I want to end that, Rey. If freeing you is what that requires, then so be it."

"So this was for Titus?"

"Yes. Not for you."

Rey thinks back to her brief conversation with her son. She's not sure that Titus views the conflict with his father to be resolved. Far from it. But maybe in time things will improve. She certainly hopes so.

"Rey," Kylo wants her attention. "I will keep our family intact. It will just look a bit different than I had hoped. One day, Titus will understand. One day, he will come to love me."

"Today did not help with that," Rey observes tartly. Because if Kylo thinks this is how to win over their son, he is gravely mistaken.

"Titus will be an excellent Sith. And in time, he will come to love me. As a father and as a Master. But he will respect me too."

Rey isn't inclined to debate this point and, in this, she and Kylo want the same. For Rey very much wants to dampen the conflict between father and son. Because if scenes like today happen when Titus is twelve, what does the future hold? Will even father-and-son Skywalker Siths end up at each other's throats?

"So what happens next? What does this mean?" Rey gestures around the luxurious all-white Empress quarters.

Kylo walks a little further into the room and stops before the bed. He stands there a moment before he turns and walks farther away into the room. "You disappoint me, Rey," he tells her, sounding very much resigned. "Even today, you cannot do as I wish." He plunks down his helmet on a table and turns to look her in the eye. "You will never be the woman I want you to be. I know that now. And I can live with that. Better you, the mother of my son, be my Empress than one of those grad student daughters of my subordinates." Kylo looks away now. "I still want you for my Empress, even if I don't want you for a wife."

"What are you saying?" Spit it out, Kylo. Rey isn't up for another one of his longwinded heart-to-hearts. Not after this emotionally and physically exhausting day.

"You are free of your cell, Rey. But you are not free of me. In exchange for my mercy, you will be my Empress. We will live together with Titus as a family here in the palace. But this is not a real marriage. You will not begrudge me other women. Nor will you prevent me from seeking happiness elsewhere."

"So we are publicly married but privately apart?" Rey wants to understand these boundaries very clearly.

"Yes. This too is for Titus. To give him a stable home life and a mother."

Rey takes a deep breath. "Okay. And what about me? Can I seek happiness elsewhere?" She borrows his turn of phrase.

Kylo shoots her a look. "I'll kill any man who touches you, Rey. Cade Biggs was the exception, never forget that."

"That's not fair!" Rey objects.

But as usual, fairness is not important on the Dark Side. The Sith aren't big on justice. "If you will not love me, then you will not love any man, Rey." This is vengeful Kylo speaking. The possessive, obsessive, prideful Dark priest of the Force.

Rey opens her mouth to protest some more, but thinks better of it. Really, she ought to stay away from men. She has the worst luck with men. "Fine. Whatever," she backs down. She can be content to be a mother to her son. That's really all she wants right now. And besides, Cade has moved on.

Kylo continues talking. "The plan was always for us to be happy. And we might have been were it not

for your insecurities and your fear. But you are still family, Rey, and family meant a lot to Snoke. Enough for him to repeatedly ask my uncle to come home. I think our Master would approve of today. Of all of it, including Titus. Snoke would have approved of Titus. He would have loved to teach Titus."

Kylo Ren might be romantic and impulsive, but he is also a shrewd and thoughtful man. And he's a Sith trained by Darth Plagueis the Wise. Kylo always has a reason for his actions. And now he begins to explain the underlying reason for his actions. "All along, I just assumed that the balance of the Force meant that you and I would be in harmony together. That Dark and Light would do more than co-exist, that they would thrive off mutual dependence. Now, I think that was a fool's dream. That balance isn't some blissful harmony, but it's more like an equilibrium of dissonance."

What? "You lost me."

"Then understand it this way: Peace is a lie, Rey. Conflict is a constant. Among people, among ideas, among the Force. That is the way of things—life competes for dominance. And we do too."

Rey rolls her eyes. "You're the dominant one. Haven't we established that?"

Kylo just shakes his head. "Rey, if you can't see how weak I am for you, then you don't truly know me at all. I want to control you far less than you fear. I don't need you to bow to me or to call me Master. But I need you around and I want your influence to matter. This generation of Skywalkers is not the family I had hoped for, but we will stay together. As a team of rivals, if we must. You are my destiny, Rey, like I told you all along. And only a fool fights destiny."

"I'm still not getting this," Rey complains.

So Kylo tries again. "Rey, you may be my wife in name only, but I want you to be my Empress in full. I am prepared to tolerate some conflict so that you can be the strong beacon of Light to counter my Darkness. Perhaps this is how we will find balance."

"Oh." Rey still doesn't know what this means in practice.

"We will get used to it." Kylo says this in a way that makes Rey think he is trying to convince himself as much as her. "I will try and I need you to try too. I'm running out of good options for us, Rey. So don't make me regret this."

"Is that a threat?" She shoots him a sideways glance.

"Rey . . . " Kylo runs a hand through his wild hair. He looks exasperated. "In the long run, I hope we . . ."

"Yes?"

"I hope we can be friends."

Rey shoots him a quizzical look. Is he kidding? He ruins her marriage to Cade and destroys her family, he invades her mind and locks her in a cell, he parades her around in chains and seduces her, then he publicly threatens to kill her. No, Rey thinks. She and Kylo will never be friends. Too much has happened.

Kylo must see her skepticism. "I need you to at least try. For Titus' sake. Can you do that?"

Rey sighs. "Sure, why not?" she agrees a marked lack of enthusiasm. At least she's not in her cell.

Content with that flippant answer, Kylo collects his helmet then walks across the room to open another door. Rey frowns. She had just assumed that door had led to a closet, but apparently not. "Where are you going?" she asks, looking over his shoulder.

"To my room. Our quarters adjoin. I sleep next door."

"Oh." She had not expected this answer. Rey gulps.

"Cesi did a good job," Kylo says this with his trademark half-smile smirk as he stands in the doorway taking his leave. "You look beautiful tonight, Rey. The dress threw me for a loop at first, but it looks nice. It's very you. The princess of the Light."

Rey doesn't know what to say to this. She just stands there.

"Goodnight, Rey." Kylo nods. Then he waves a hand and the door slides shut.

End of Part One

More to come when I dream it up.


	23. Chapter 23

If you are reading this, then you know that _The Chosen One_ is really Part 6 of my lengthy Reylo drama _Ghosts of the Past._ Part 6 begins after a long time skip. This was both a plot device to give Titus some time to grow up (I didn't want to write another Reylo baby or toddler story). It was also a means to tweak my main characters a bit by giving them separate life experiences.

Rey in Part 6 is not the same Rey you met in _Ghosts of the Past_. War, heartbreak, loss, and motherhood have changed her. Most importantly, our heroine and her son are in hiding living a lie. Self-preservation is the motivation Rey needs to shapeshift into her elite world. All the insecurities that kept the _Ghosts of the Past_ character Rey from wanting to be Empress fall away when the decision to blend in as Cade Biggs' wife becomes a necessity. As always, Rey does what must be done to survive. She has the added reason now of protecting her son. As any mother will tell you, that is a powerful incentive. Rey finds with Cade Biggs a reasonable facsimile of the normal life she always craved. And that has helped her grow in important ways, most especially in understanding and recognizing love.

The Force is probably the only area of Rey's life that has stayed the same, for she has basically ignored her talent for years as a defensive measure. But now that she is back in Kylo's life and Kylo has begun to exert considerable influence on young Titus, Rey is going to rekindle her interest in the Force in a big way. Balance is going to matter to Rey much more as she sees her boy slipping into Darkness. More to come on that in the next story segment.

Rey marries the first man she meets after Kylo. She's super on the rebound and on the run and pregnant, so it's a logical choice for a survivor like herself. It also happens in real life. Someone exits a long-term relationship that wasn't quite working and then the next thing you know you're getting a wedding announcement. Cade Biggs is perfect for Rey in so many ways—an admirable man, an involved and loving father, a good provider, etc. But Rey settled for him. I liked that irony. Because most women wouldn't consider being the young second wife to a Fortune 100 galactic CEO type as settling. But for Rey, it is. I wanted poor Cade Biggs to get something of a happy ending to all the drama, so I had him reunite with his first wife and put back together his original family. It's a counterpoint, of course, to Kylo and Rey putting back together their family.

Rey's story arc in _The Chosen One_ so far is to face up to all that she had run away from in Kylo, including the impact of her leaving on Kylo and the complicated father figure that Kylo Ren has become to their son. It also includes Rey facing the web of lies that is exposed (with a little embellishing help from Kylo) to ruin forever her relationship with Cade Biggs. All those lies don't matter much to Titus, however, who learns the real truth from his father and begins to understand his mother's motivations. And besides, one lovely streak of Light in young Titus is his unconditional love for his mother. He quickly forgives Rey for her deception.

Rey isn't the only one who has changed in _The Chosen One_. The Kylo we meet again in Part 6 is not the same man we knew in _Ghosts of the Past_. He is far more emotionally controlled, less violent and more mature and reflective. He is much more in like his beloved Master Snoke than the Kylo we originally met. He's also a man who has achieved some of his greatest goals (ruling the galaxy) and confronted his worst fears (losing Snoke, losing Rey). Kylo has known both great professional success and great personal failure. Those experiences are maturing and meaningful. When we meet Kylo again, he is transformed from the needy, emotional Sith we knew into a coldly, remote man who keeps most everyone at arm's length. That is the legacy of the hurt of Rey. Kylo is very stuck in the past for much of this story so far. His character arc in _The Chosen One_ so far is two-fold: (1) he thaws a bit of his cold persona exterior to become again the emo Kylo we all know and love, and (2) he arrives at a place where he is finally ready to move on from Rey.

Time truly does change people inside. Quite frankly, over time you let go of many things that bother you and you either confront your insecurities or you learn to cope with them. Over time, fewer things matter to me, but they matter more. Kylo is in that spot now. The trappings of Empire do not concern him, nor do most of his policy reforms. He has come full circle from the man we first met in _Ghosts of the Past_. Back then, he had plenty of purpose and was struggling to achieve power. In Part 6, we meet a man who has plenty of power but who is struggling to find purpose. Kylo thinks he's found it in training and raising his son. He's got two huge challenges left: to find balance and to keep the Skywalkers together.

This story, like everything I write, has a grounding in my own personal reality. When I was writing _Ghosts of the Past_ , I went on a girls' weekend with my best grad school chums. We are scattered about the country now but we get together every year or so and pick right up where we left off. Well, this year we learned that one friend married ten years with two kids is hiding the secret that she has a husband who is a nightly black-out, pass-out drunk. Her perfect lawyer girl suburban life with school age girls in matching mommy-blog ready dresses and Instagram worthy vacation pics is basically a lie. Her husband has been doing this for six of the last ten years of their marriage.

As I watched my friend cry her way through our trip, I listened to how angry and betrayed she felt. How trapped she feels in the marriage, how sad and hurt and pissed off and utterly stuck she feels. She kept asking how could she ever trust her husband again when he lies all the time about drinking and keeps letting her down. Honestly it was awful. And so real. There was also a weird power play going on too because my friend didn't want to pay for rehab again after her husband's first stint failed. She basically said he had his chance. She can't see past her own anger to realize that her husband needs help and support and not another lecture. And that likely the only way to save her marriage is to find a workable solution for his drinking. Dealing with substance abuse probably requires a lot of compassion and patience that my friend is clearly not prepared to give. But she doesn't want out of the marriage-she says she wants to make it work. My friend kept saying how she doesn't want a new husband. She wants her old husband who she fell in love with. When he's sober, she sees glimpses of the good man she knew. And that keeps her clinging to the hope that things will one day be as they were before.

The whole experience got me thinking. How do you rebuild trust after betrayal? How do you believe again after someone repeatedly lets you down? Hurt runs deep. And forgiving and forgetting are two different things. I'm a big believer that most problems have more than one perspective and more than one contributing cause. If you have read my stories you know that I do not see the world as black and white. Conflict is a constant in our lives and if you cannot see beyond your own hurt, you cannot begin to understand the experience and perspective of the person who you are in conflict with. That's where my friend is-stuck with her own grievances and unable to see that she contributes and enables the behavior she doesn't like. Also, she is unwilling to get her husband the help he needs. Hurt, quite simply, can be selfish.

All of this drama found its way into the Kylo-Rey relationship on my story. Was it frustrating to read? Did you think the characters got close to making a breakthrough but then didn't quite get there? That was intentional on my part. Because I wanted this relationship to feel real. Like there was real hope that things could get better, but it was just a little beyond each character's grasp to get there. Love is a leap of faith, and that's why trust is essential to love. Throughout this entire story segment, Rey and Kylo keep circling one another but neither trusts the other enough to make that leap completely.

And let's be honest: sometimes relationships are irretrievably broken. If you are someone who doesn't have a broken relationship (with a friend, a family member, a lover, an employer) in your past, then consider yourself lucky. But have no fear—Kylo and Ren still have more to their story. No one is walking away.

So where are we now? Rey is out of her cell and about to start taking more control over her life. Kylo is telling himself it's time to finally move on. Titus keeps dipping farther into darkness while thinking he's doing the right thing (sound familiar?). And Rey is realizing she needs to learn and teach the Light ASAP to help her son.

As always, I write the Sith as a family. Not just the Skywalkers but their extended clan of Vanee (who appears in _His Padawan_ written after Rogue One came out and the character Vanee makes his cameo in the movie) and Milo (my fictional character who shows up in lots of my stories as Snoke's right hand man, spy, and jack of all trades).

The idea of Kylo raising and training a young son grew out of the epilogue of my original Reylo fic _You Need a Teacher_. At the end of that story, Kylo's orphaned secret son seeks out his Emperor father voluntarily, looking for help and-most importantly-looking for someone to love him. This was a setup I have been wanting to revisit for a while. The scenario is different this time around but the idea is the same. A Sith who by his nature tends to hurt people with his actions underneath it all is desperate for love. This time, our Sith and his reluctant protege both want love from Rey. Kylo wants a loving wife and Titus want his mother back. And therein lies some of the conflict of this fic.

A word about the strange comments on this fic: somehow, I ended up with one person (maybe several people) harassing me as a result of this fic. They have been posting hateful comments on _The Chosen One_ and even on other authors' fics and blogs to trash me. They purport to be spoiling the plot, but in reality their "spoilers" are just speculation or outright lies. I reported this abuse to the AO3 site and disabled anonymous commenting and that has helped some. But these people seem very determined. I'm not really sure what to make of their drama. Perhaps they are young because they seem overly involved in my writing to have taken it so personally. They also seem very threatened by ideas they disagree with.

I'm pretty live-and-let-live about most things. I think you should read what you like and don't read what you don't like. Fan fiction is supposed to be fun. Fun to write, fun to read. And this harassment is an attempt to ruin that fun. Fan fiction is also a place to be creative. What I write is not canon and never will be, so I'm not sure why this person is so threatened by my ideas. In my experience, narrow-minded people tend to quickly expose themselves for what they are. Rather than inject myself into the debate, I am content to let this person continue to embarrass themselves. I'll take the high road. I'm not on tumblr or other blogs and message boards, so I haven't actually seen what has been said other than on my own story comments. Thank you to those readers who voiced support and concern. Rest assured, blueenvelopes is just fine and undeterred as always. I'm not a very confrontational person, but I am stubborn.

I write a particular Dark AU point of view that I believe is uniquely my own. I do not plagiarize from other authors, as apparently has been claimed. Anyone who has read my body of work will see the recurring themes and ideas reshuffled in different ways in my different Reylo stories. I am rather remarkably consistent. Honestly, that often makes me worry that I am boring to read. I do make an attempt to add appropriate warnings and tags, but my stories have plot twists, reversals of fortune, and endings that have at times frustrated and disappointed readers. What can I say? I write for myself, not to please an audience. Disney will give us a happy ending and a moral character arc (probably a redemption) that will satisfy those looking simple, upbeat messages. My little corner of the SW universe doesn't follow those rules. This story, like everything I write, is intended for mature audiences. That means it's for adults. _Ghosts of the Past_ and _The Chosen One_ are adult in theme, in plot, and in characterization. With character complexities and sometimes outright contradictions that I believe exist in real life and in real people. Simply put, there is no PG version of the Dark Side. But whatever my readers call themselves-pro-Reylo, anti-Reylo, whatever-they are welcome. Whatever your Reylo agenda is, you can feel free to read blueenvelopes. Just don't read with the expectation that you will always read your preferred point of view.

There is more to this story. I just need to go dream it up. So stay tuned. Thanks for reading.


	24. Chapter 24 Ghosts 7 into

It's early and Kylo Ren is alone in his private office brooding. He has a datapad in his lap as he skims the collection of newsfeed articles pulled for him. The PR group does this once a week so Emperor Ren can get the gist of the prevailing mood in his Core Worlds. They also they do it from time to time on specific topics and after big events. So it is customary to present a compilation after Empire Day. Usually, it's fawning coverage and celebrity photographs from the events. But not this year. This year, it's all Titus and, to a lesser extent, Rey.

 _Like Father, like Son._ That particular headline grabs Kylo's attention, although there are plenty of other newsfeed titles that echo a similar sentiment. The dramatic photograph that accompanies this particular article says it all: Titus is captured in the instant he impales an unlucky Imperial guard with an electrified Force pike. It's a David and Goliath moment. The guard is a foot taller than the boy and the camera angle exaggerates the height difference. The man's red armor creates a bulk that highlights the scrawniness of his kid. Titus ought to be no match for the guard and yet the man goes down without a fight. For the boy's ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life might create it and make it grow, but in this instance the Force brings only death. For this guard and for the rest of his fallen brethren who yesterday had stood between two Skywalkers.

Kylo stares hard at his boy's face in the photograph. At his eyes slightly squinted with concentration. At his jaw half open with lip curled and teeth bared. Titus is deep in the thrall of Darkness here. The lust to kill written across his achingly young features. Not yet old enough to shave but plenty old enough to kill. As Kylo stares, he frowns and looks closer still, enlarging the picture. Then he pulls up others taken in the preceding moments as his son had rampaged up the dais steps, throwing men left and right with the Force. Yes, there it is again and again. The faint cast of yellow to his son's brown eyes. Others might miss it entirely or chalk it up to a camera flash. But Kylo recognizes it for what it is. And what it means.

How had he missed this in the moment? 'Sith eyes' are what old Snoke used to call the feral yellow gleam that comes from channeling deep the Dark Side. Sidious had yellow eyes during his Empire years and reportedly so did many great Sith of old. But not Darth Plagueis and never Darth Ren. His Master had been unconcerned. Our goal is power and we use it for reform, progress and order, old Snoke would say. Not for pure evil. We are the heroes, not the villains, in this tale. We are the evolved, enlightened Sith who seek balance. And no yellow-eyed Sith will ever achieve balance. For the Chosen One will be as Jedi as he is Sith.

Take care, Apprentice, that you do not become too Dark, wise Snoke had counseled. Beware the madness in the extreme of the Shadow Force. For rampant destruction feeds on itself, prudence becomes paranoia, and sadism quickly becomes masochism. Unchecked Dark power was the undoing of the old Sith Empire and the reason for Bane's Rule of Two. But mind the risk, for it is always there. If you abuse this power, you too will end up with a decaying face and yellow eyes. For your own sake, control the Darkness or it will control and consume you.

Every now and then, Snoke taught, give in to your craving for the Light. Safeguard your soul. Lest you become a snarling animal brute like Maul. Or a paranoid planet killer like Sidious. In their extremes, those men sowed the seeds of their own demise. They tempted the Force to strike back at them, and strike back it did.

That wise warning is on Kylo's mind as he peers at the hint of Sith eyes in his young son. The boy hasn't even begun formal training and yet his eyes flash yellow in the moment. Kylo knows he must be extra careful now. All of the Chosen Ones are born with equal potential for Dark or Light. Snoke had relished this aspect of his Apprentice Kylo Ren, believing that he, like the rest of his clan, had the right mix of natural ability to bring balance to the Force. But every Dark Skywalker since their patriarch had trained first as a Jedi before they were trained as a Sith. That early training had instilled self-restraint and discipline. But most importantly, it had grounded them in the Light.

Seeing his boy's strong inclination to Darkness worries Kylo Ren. It could overwhelm the boy at a tender age. Ruining his potential for the long term. Because for most, the old Jedi adage is true: once you start down the Dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. And that could prevent Titus from being the true Chosen One, the long-awaited messiah of the Force. His boy needs the Light, Kylo sees. Titus needs his mother's influence now more than ever. But it's not cuddles and pancakes that Kylo has in mind. It's the Force.

He summons old Vanee up from breakfast and promptly sends him to Mustafar Castle. It's time to fetch Lord Vader's secret stash of holochrons. His fearsome grandfather, like all Sith, had craved power. But as the original Chosen One, the fallen Jedi had been shockingly ecumenical in his tastes. For Anakin Skywalker hadn't turned Sith to leave behind his Jedi powers, but to augment them. Darth Vader had wanted to rule it all: the galaxy and the Force, both the Dark and the Light.

Darth Ren can give his son the galaxy and the Dark, but it's up to the boy and his mother to learn the Light. With the help of Darth Vader's Jedi heirlooms, Kylo vows to make this happen. Together, he, Rey and Titus will finish what his grandfather started and realize the dream of Darth Plagueis the Wise. His family will rule it all and they will rule it forever.

Provided, of course, that he can keep them together . . .


	25. Chapter 25

Rey is so exhausted from the drama of Empire Day and so comfortable in her fancy soft bed that she sleeps late. Really late. When Rey bolts upright and awake, she glances at the clock. She's half an hour late for breakfast. Rey doesn't want to miss a chance to see Titus before school, since she barely saw him yesterday evening. So she rushes to get dressed. She has two choices: her prison uniform and her white evening gown. Rey chooses her prison togs. Then she is off and wandering around the hallways lost as she looks for the breakfast room. Rey has to ask a guard for directions. When she finally arrives, Kylo and Vanee are already gone. It's just Milo and an uneasy looking Titus.

"Good morning," Rey sails in with a deliberately cheery smile.

Milo stands to his feet. "Good morning, your Excellency."

Rey waves him back into his chair. "Oh, stop that, Milo. And don't you dare do that tomorrow morning. I got my fill of that for a lifetime last night," Rey grumbles. Then she slips into an open chair next to her son.

Titus eyes her attire. "Mom, why are you wearing that?" Before she can answer, he complains loudly. "What was the fucking point of yesterday if you are still wearing that?"

"It was this or an evening gown," Rey shrugs, ignoring the bad language for the moment. "It's only temporary, Titus. I'll get some new clothes today. This is the last time you'll see this, I promise."

The boy just looks away. "I killed people so you didn't have to wear that."

Rey takes a deep breath and tries to lighten the mood. She happily wiggles her wrists as she reaches for a muffin. "Hey, look—no chains!" Rey leans over and bumps her son's shoulder with her own playfully. "I slept in a real bed last night. No hard bench on the wall."

"Does that mean you slept with him?" Titus' eyes narrow.

And, yikes, she wasn't anticipating that question. Rey feels her face pale and she is momentarily uncertain how to respond. "No," she says quietly, suddenly very aware that they have an audience in Milo. "No, your father and I have separate rooms, Titus." And that's as close as Rey is going to get to discussing sex with her son.

"Sorry, Mom," Titus seems to sense that he has overstepped a boundary. He's embarrassed now. "It's just that you were promising him anything and everything yesterday," the boy grumbles.

"Yes," is how Rey decides to respond. She snakes an arm around her son to pull him close. "I would do anything if it meant saving you, Titus. And you would be worth it." The boy reddens now and it's another awkward moment. Well, pretty much everything since yesterday morning has been awkward and hard. Rey is anxious to reclaim some normalcy. She glances at the clock on the wall. "Aren't you going to be late for school?"

"I'm not going to school."

Rey meets Milo's eyes across the table and it's clear that this has been the topic of conversation before she arrived. "Yeah, I can understand why you don't want to go," Rey commiserates some. "But it's not going to get easier tomorrow. Just hold your head high and march in."

"Have you seen the holonet this morning?" Titus scowls.

"No." Rey doesn't have a datapad. She doesn't even have a toothbrush. All she has is an evening gown, shoes, and a king's ransom in Cesi Flick's borrowed jewels.

"Well, I'm all over the fucking holonet." Titus gives her a resentful look. "You are too."

Yeah, she sort of figured that. "Just ignore it. School is important," Rey maintains.

"Don't start in on Jakku, okay?" Titus is anticipating being nagged. "Look, I know school is important. But just not today." The boy looks down. "I'm not up for it today."

Her heart goes out to poor stressed out Titus. It's hard enough to be the son of Kylo Ren without having yesterday's violent family drama blasted across every newsfeed. Titus is very young to be so exposed. And Rey sees that the reality of his actions is sinking in. All in all, that's probably a good thing, Rey thinks. Titus needs to learn to live with the consequences of his actions.

"The Master has given his instructions." Milo speaks up quietly. He meets Rey's eyes and it's clear that the old Sith servant is trying to head off another confrontation between father and son, this time over school.

So Rey wades into the debate. "What did your father say about school?" she wants to know.

"He said that a Sith needs a thick skin. That I shouldn't care what anyone thinks about me. That we aren't judged by anyone else's standards but our own. That we aren't like other people." The boy abruptly pushes back from the table and stands to his feet. "He's used to being known as a killer, Mom! Everyone knows Kylo Ren with the cool sword is a killer! And everyone knows he has the Force. No one knew that about me . . . "

"You're not a killer—"

"Nine, Mom! There were nine who died! I don't know how many survived but were hurt. But nine are dead . . . " The anticipated judgement of his peers has suddenly reawakened Titus' conscience. Her son who had seemed so blithely remorseless last night has had a change of heart. "He doesn't care, of course. Those were his own men supposed to protect him and he doesn't care. He just says that no one will fuck with me at school now, and he's right. But no one is going to want to be my friend either . . . "

There is probably truth to those words, Rey knows. And it hurts to realize this. Titus had finally been doing well in school and making friends . . . until this. Rey hates that her boy feels so alone. It reawakens her own fear of being alone.

"The Master has given his instructions." Milo's voice again holds a warning note that Rey hears loud and clear. So Rey offers a compromise. "Okay. Well, how about I ride with you in the speeder to school. You can decide when we get there if you want to go in. I won't make you go if you decide no," Rey makes a reckless offer.

Titus comes around at this suggestion. It's clear that he hadn't wanted to do this alone today. But he is also wary of her plan. "Can you do that? You're not in a cell, but does that mean you get to go out?"

Damn straight it does, Rey thinks. "Who's going to stop me?" she brazens. "I'm not a prisoner anymore. I'm supposed to be the Empress. And this Empress is going to drive her kid to school." Titus needs some everyday normalcy, Rey thinks. She probably does too.

"Yeah, okay. But like that?"

Oh, yeah. She's wearing the prisoner suit with 'IN CUSTODY' writ large across the front. Well, whatever. It's not ideal, but it can't be helped. "No one will see me in the covered speeder," Rey reasons, remembering the dark tint to the windows of the palace speeders she has seen. "Plus, I'd like to get out of this place if only for a few minutes. Do it for me, Titus," she cajoles.

He makes a face but agrees, "Alright."

Milo walks with them to the landing platform. A speeder is already waiting. "Good luck, son," Milo gives Titus a grandfatherly pat on the back. "I'm sure it won't be as bad as you fear." Then the Emperor's personal assistant pokes his head into the speeder. "Tagg, take care of your precious cargo," he instructs the chauffeur. Rey and Titus climb inside.

Tagg the driver clearly isn't expecting her. He takes one look at Rey in her instantly recognizable prisoner's outfit and his eyes widen. "Oh . . . uh . . . you're . . . "

The driver makes to stand and Rey stops him. "Hi, I'm Rey." She holds out a hand that he tepidly shakes.

"Uh . . . hello . . . uh . . . "

"Can I drive?" she asks and now the man really looks spooked. But he shifts over and now it's Rey at the controls and Titus at her side up front. Hapless Tagg is relegated to the back as passenger.

"Geez, I thought the traffic on Kuat was bad. This Coruscant traffic is a nightmare," Rey gripes soon after they take off. "Does everyone on this world drive like a maniac?"

"Pretty much," Titus confirms and Tagg just nods silently.

"Well, when in Coruscant . . . " Rey utters the old adage about the Eternal City world and then she too guns the engine and they sail through a giant six-way intersection. "Ooooh, this is quick. Great pickup." Rey's mechanical mind is hard at work assessing the speeder. It feels great to be piloting this little skiff even if it's nothing special. But she's in no rush. The twenty-minute ride to school gives her and Titus some more time to talk.

"I wish I could go back to being Titus Biggs," her boy says softly as he looks out at Coruscant whizzing by.

"That seems like a lifetime ago," Rey commiserates. She wouldn't mind going back to their old life either. Only that will never be an option, she knows. Rey is a realist about things where Kylo is concerned.

"Yeah. I miss Dad. Dad would have at least lectured me for killing nine people . . . " And it's true. Cade Biggs would have been horrified and started calling in child psychologists, therapists, and criminal lawyers. Not like Kylo who had been giving subtle attaboys all day yesterday. Titus is confused and he's practically begging someone to punish him for yesterday. But Rey knows that's not going to happen. Because there are very few lasting consequences to a Sith for bad behavior. That's the message Kylo is sending: dare to do it and you can get away with it. Use your power to get what you want and don't let anything or anyone stand in your way. This is everything Rey has wanted to avoid, for she fears that Kylo is teaching their son to be a bully Sith like himself.

"Titus, I wanted to shield you from all of this. To keep you from the drama between your father and I. To keep you from the pressure of being the Emperor's son. From the burden of being a Skywalker." Rey takes a deep breath and admits, "To some extent, your father is right—we are not like other people. Things like yesterday don't happen to normal people. But they happen in your father's family."

"I know. I've heard. Mom, I understand more and more each day why you lied. And why you left him."

Rey shoots a glance over a Titus. "Your father was never going to kill me yesterday," she says softly.

"You don't know that!" Titus retorts and Rey realizes that she has said the wrong thing. Because if she is right, then it only makes killing nine men that much worse because it was meaningless. "It's not like he hasn't tried before," the boy grumbles. Silence hangs heavy until Titus finally speaks up to break it. "What did you two argue about anyway? You never told me what made him so mad."

"It doesn't matter." Rey tries to brush off the question.

But Titus is having none of it. "It almost got us both killed," he reminds her with an edge to his tone. This poor boy is mad at the world today. "It matters. What was it? Tell me. I have a right to know."

Rey thinks a long moment. Titus does deserve an explanation, but she's not keen on sharing any details. She's not about to start involving Titus in the gory specifics of her pretend-marriage with Kylo. It would be really inappropriate for her son to know what she and Kylo had done in her cell. Plus Rey herself is still not quite sure how to think of that night. So she summarizes generally. "Your father wanted us to get back together. I turned him down. He doesn't take no very well."

"He doesn't hear no very often," Titus gripes out some insight. "Not nearly enough." The boy is quiet for a moment before he follows up. "So . . . are you going to get back together?"

"No!" Rey rushes out her denial. "But we will still live together as a family. I'll be here for you, Titus. Always." She catches his eye to smile at him and Titus does look a bit reassured. Not much, but some. "Titus, whatever happens in the future, whether you are Dark or Light or something in between, I will always love you. I don't care whether you rule the galaxy or bring balance to the Force. You are my son and I will always love you just because you are you."

"I know that." The boy turns his head away at this speech, but Rey can see that her words have made an impression. So Rey keeps talking despite their audience in the backseat.

"In his own way, your father loves you. He wants the best for you. He may phrase it in terms of power and glory, but those are the things that matter most to him. And he wants you to have them too."

"I hate him."

Rey ignores this. "He's jealous, you know. Jealous of how much I love you. Jealous that I can't love him the same way."

"I hate him."

"Please, don't say that," Rey protests. Because that statement worries her deeply. "Be angry with him. Be disappointed in him. But don't say you hate him." Even Rey could never hate Kylo. Despite all that he has done.

Titus doesn't respond. Instead, he gives driving directions. "Right at the next light. Then hang a left after that. School will be up ahead on the right."

"Yeah, okay. This looks familiar from when I came to the soccer game." Rey looks around at bustling rush hour Upper Level Coruscant. "It's going to take me awhile to get my bearings in the city. It looks so different now," she observes. "I didn't get to see much when Cade and I flew in. The last time I was here before that, there was a war going on and the Upper Level was a battlefield." Those images from more than a decade past are still etched deeply into Rey's mind. All that suffering. All that destruction. All that death. All for the ambitions of Kylo Ren.

"I saw the pictures of you back then. As his pretend sister. He showed me the pictures that first day."

Rey thinks back many long years ago. "It was a horrible time for the galaxy. But it was probably the best time for us. Your father and I were really happy back then. Coruscant was burning down around us but we were happy. Until your father kept taking things too far."

Kylo Ren is always overreaching, Rey thinks. He couldn't wait to win the war, so he had obliterated much of Coruscant to make it happen. He wouldn't settle for just ordinary marriage, he had to have some forever, immortal Force wedding in his temple. Like how he couldn't settle for just meditation in private with Rey to feel the Light. He had to have sex with her on her knees in chains bent over her cell bench. A domineering guy like Kylo needs a more submissive woman, Rey thinks. Someone who better tolerates all his aggression and ambition. Maybe this antagonistic Emperor-Empress relationship Kylo wants will balance the Force in the long term. But it sure won't make either of them happy, Rey knows. It's like he has deliberately set them up to be at each other's throats.

But Rey is not wasting any more mental energy on Kylo this morning. Not when her son needs his mom. "Titus, after yesterday, I don't want you to think that violence is the easy answer to your problems." Rey speaks in a serious tone as they are stopped at a light.

The boy who moments ago was guilty now becomes defensive. "It worked."

"But it killed a lot of people." Seeing his face, Rey decides to share some of her own regrets. "Look, Titus, I won't lie. I have killed before. I know that sometimes it's unavoidable."

"Yeah?" The boy looks up in surprise. "When?"

"Once back on Jakku when I got jumped by a rival scavenger. I was defending myself. I didn't mean to kill him, but that's how it ended up. I also shot down three TIEs that chased me off Jakku. I presume those guys died."

"The First Order chased you off Jakku?"

"At the time, they thought I was Resistance. I wasn't Resistance then . . . not yet." Rey thinks some more. "I also killed when I was escaping your father on Mustafar. And I might have killed when Hux and I took off for Crait."

"You're not sure?"

"It happened really fast. And each time I was trying to survive. I killed out of necessity, Titus. I didn't enjoy it and I didn't do it out of malice."

The boy nods and whispers, "I sort of enjoyed it. It was a rush." He colors at this admission.

"I spent a lot of years on Jakku struggling to survive another day—"

"I know," Titus interrupts. "I saw the marks on the wall." And now, it's Rey's turn to flush.

"Look, when you live like that, you learn how precious life is. Don't ever let your father convince you that anyone is expendable. Your father loves his Skywalker family. But he doesn't realize that, Force or no Force, every family sees their loved ones the same way." Rey makes a face. "When your father cares about something or someone, he cares deeply. The problem is that he doesn't care about anything or anyone else. Your father is not big on empathy."

"He's a Sith." And now Titus again looks confused. "He says that Light or Dark, everyone kills. He says his uncle and his parents killed plenty."

"It's true. They did. It was a war. People died."

"You sound like him."

"Yeah, I guess I do. Titus, one big difference between your father and I is that don't like to fight. I will fight for myself or for my family. But I won't fight for politics or the Force. It's not worth dying for ideas. It's not worth killing people either."

"You were willing to die yesterday for freedom," Titus points out.

"That was my own freedom. Not freedom in general."

"Then why did you fight for the Resistance?" he wants to know.

Rey just looks away. "I never actually fought for the Resistance. I ran supplies for them. That's different. I was using the Resistance to hide from your father."

"Why?"

"The First Order put a bounty on my head."

"What?"

"It's complicated. Everything with your father is complicated. It's a long story, but we got caught on opposite sides of the war for a bit. Look, Titus, we haven't had much time together since you learned the truth about me. Maybe tonight we can talk more about it and I'll answer all of your questions. I want you to know the whole truth, and not just what your father may have told you."

"Okay," the boy nods. "So what are you going to do today?"

Rey looks down at her clothes. "I need to go shopping. You don't happen to have a credit card on you? I'm broke."

He shakes his head no. "Mom, are you sure you're not going to get in trouble for going out alone?" Titus is concerned again. "And for going out like that?" Clearly, her son is very upset by her clothes.

But Rey is determined. She won't be controlled by Kylo Ren. "I refuse to be a prisoner in the palace instead of a prisoner in a cell. And I have Tagg here to look after me. I guess I'll just tell everyone to send the bill to the palace." Rey points up ahead. "Hey, that's it, right? Do I go in the first entrance or the second?"

"The first," Titus answers. Then he scowls. "Fuck! Is that what I think it is?" he demands as they pull into the drop-off line.

"Oh, shit," Rey herself swears, which is pretty unusual. But this merits a curse or two. "Titus, honey, don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"Let's go. I'm not getting out! I'm never going to school again-"

Seeing his reaction, Rey automatically kicks into mama bear mode. "Stay in the speeder. I'll handle this."

"No, wait, Mom!"

But Rey has already parked the speeder right up next to the pack of media hounds who lie in wait. At least six floating camera droids swarm the speeder as she hops out and firmly shuts the door. Do these guys want a show? Rey is plenty prepared to give them a show. As the droids and the media personnel surround her, Rey concentrates briefly and the Force comes to her aid. The Force comes quickly now that she's had more practice in her cell. Rey raises a hand above her head and then drops it downward.

All six camera droids smash to the ground in pieces.

The media types all take a big step back. Their chorus of shouted questions falls silent as everyone stares.

Rey's face is all Jakku bluster as she bluntly addresses the small crowd. "Take a good look." She gestures dismissively to the broken droids with a macho bravado that does justice to her status as the wife of Kylo Ren. "I can do that to people too. I don't want to, but I will if ever I see you at my son's school again. Titus is a minor child and he is off limits to all media. No exceptions. That means if I see a picture of Titus in the press that didn't come from the palace, I'm coming for you. That means if I see articles mentioning my kid's name that didn't come from the palace, I'm coming for you. Tell your coworkers and your editors too. There will be no warnings. There will only be consequences." Rey nods with a determined look before adding, "And when I'm done with you, you will have to answer to Kylo Ren."

As everyone digests this threatening speech in stunned silence, Rey pokes her head back into the speeder. "Well? Are you going?" she asks Titus. "Because if you are, now would be a good time."

"Damn, Mom," Titus himself looks a bit intimidated. "I think I have to go now. But it's not the cameras so much as . . . well, the other kids . . . Mom, I get out at three. Would you?"

Rey hears loud and clear the unspoken question. "Yes, I'll be here. Hang in there, Titus. It's never going to be the same as before, but it will get better. And you will get used to it."

"I suppose," Titus says warily as he begins to climb out. It's strange to see the boy who was so hyper focused and confident yesterday against his universally feared father be so reticent to face his peers today. But Rey has enough of her own social insecurities to know that they don't always make sense. And that you can tell yourself that all you want, but it doesn't make it easier.

"Just fake it," Rey whispers under her breath as she hands him his backpack. "No one will know the difference. And the kids at this school seem to like you."

"Until yesterday."

"They will again," she reassures him, knowing from her experience mothering Sasha and Malia just how important peer acceptance is at this age. She watches Titus hurry into school, seeing the furtive looks other arriving students cast his way. It's nothing like the smiles and high-fives she remembers Titus receiving on the soccer field. But that can't be helped now. Rey is troubled as she watches Titus go. Then, she makes to climb back in the speeder.

"Lady—"

"Uh . . . Excellency?"

"P-Princess—"

No one seems to know what to call her, and Rey finds that sort of amusing.

"Would you answer a few questions, Lady? We have a lot of questions."

"Please ask your questions at the palace," Rey deflects the request. "I'm sure they will be prepared to answer everything." She herself is not. Rey has no idea how Kylo and his staff plan to explain yesterday. But that's their problem as far as she is concerned.

"But Lady—"

These people are persistent. And, really, they are just doing their job, Rey realizes. So she takes a different tactic. "Friends," Rey channels her best Cesi Flick in an effort to seem less hostile. She flashes a sheepish smile. "Today is the first day of freedom I have had in a long, long time. I want to enjoy it. And I desperately need to go shopping," Rey adds with a rueful glance down at her "IN CUSTODY" uniform. "So if you will excuse me, I will give an interview another time."

Rey hops back in the speeder and this time she relinquishes the controls to Tagg. Take me to wherever the Upper Level ladies go shopping, she requests. Minutes later she is in the ultra-exclusive shopping district that is famed throughout the galaxy. Which boutique? Tagg wants to know where to park the speeder. Rey decides on a large department store whose name is a byword for luxury. Since she needs everything, she'll start there.

When Rey walks up, it is before business hours and the store is full of employees preparing to open. The security droids alert a manager who instantly recognizes Rey in her prison garb and ponytail. I can go grab some caf and come back when you're open, she offers. But the client-savvy manager will not hear of it. Rey is ushered past employees who gape and stare into a giant mirror-lined private dressing room with plush couches. This is the over-the-top VIP lounge reserved for celebrity clients. Normally, this sort of thing wouldn't be her style, but after the debacle at school Rey is grateful for the privacy.

"P-Princ-Your Excellency?"

Again, no one seems to know what to call her. This time, Rey makes it easy. "Please, call me Rey," she tells the super-chic middle-aged sophisticate who is introduced to Rey as head of sales for ladies' ready to wear.

"How may we assist?" the saleslady asks in cool, formal tones. No mention is made of Rey's rather unfortunate current attire.

Rey is her usual direct self. But, unlike earlier, it's said with a smile. "I'd like to walk out of here wearing something different. Can you help with that?"

"It would be an honor," comes the reply. "Do you have anything in mind?"

"I would like a few casual, comfortable outfits. Simple, please. Nothing fussy or fancy. But with sleeves. I get cold and I hate to be cold," Rey explains.

The saleslady nods and starts speaking quickly to her deputies as someone brings Rey a steaming hot cup of caf. Black, like she likes it. Rey has settled into one of the plush couches to peruse the selection of fashion magazines when there is a persistent knock on the door.

"Come in," Rey calls, thinking it's the saleslady and her staff back with some clothes. But it's not. It's Milo looking rather relieved.

He bows low and it's a habit Rey remembers from bygone days with Snoke. "Prin-Your Excellency, I forget how you like to take matters into your own hands."

"Did Tagg rat me out?" Rey asks a little guiltily.

"He was rightfully concerned for your safety," Milo answers and Rey hears the unspoken criticism. She probably should have mentioned where she was going to Milo. But then he might have insisted that she have an escort of troopers or something dreadful like that. Back in her princess days on Coruscant, Kylo had always insisted on a squad of troopers for security. But there had been a war going on back then and the troopers had been for her own protection and not for her imprisonment. After months of living in a basement cell, Rey has no intention of spending her freedom surrounded by her former jailers.

"I am going to be lots of trouble, Milo," Rey decides to level with the old guy. She likes him too much to be coy.

"Oh, Vanee and I are counting on it," he beams. And this is not quite the response Rey had anticipated. She realizes now that in his own subtle way, Milo can be just as subversive as Vanee.

"So you're not mad that I didn't bring a bunch of security?" Rey raises an eyebrow.

Milo responds with his characteristic diplomacy. "Let's just say that I am not surprised." He smiles over at her. "My dear, I am very relieved after yesterday's events. And I can understand how you might want to enjoy your new status. But I have taken the liberty of calling in some reinforcements, if you don't mind."

"Reinforcements? Milo, I don't want a squad of—"

"Ah, here she is now."

"My Lady Flick!" It's the saleslady who has returned in a rush and nearly collides with the First Lady who is darting fast into the lounge.

"Oh, hey, Cesi." Rey's face splits into a wide grin. Milo looks very pleased with himself as he covertly winks at Rey.

Cesi, however, is considerably less pleased. And unlike the always correct Milo and the fawning saleslady, Lady Flick speaks plainly. "Rey, you went out like that? Thank goodness you called, Milo." Cesi turns an exasperated look on Rey. "Girl, what were you thinking?

Rey laughs a little sheepishly. "I was thinking this was the better option than last night's evening gown."

"I'm not so sure—"

"As you can see, Lady Flick," Milo neatly inserts himself. "Some new clothing is in order."

Rey nods at this. "I'd settle for anything that doesn't say "IN CUSTODY" across the front."

"Oh, agreed. I've got this, Milo," Cesi nods to the old servant. "Our Empress is in good hands."

"Very well. Here, my lady." Milo hands over several fully loaded credit cards with the instructions, "Spend generously."

"That, I can do," Cesi grins.

The saleslady grins too.

Milo departs and Rey and Cesi exchange hugs. "I didn't mean for him to drag you here," Rey apologizes. "You're supposed to be celebrating pulling off last night, right?"

Cesi brushes off this concern as she plops down beside her. "Rey, no one is talking about the party."

"I wouldn't know," she looks down and bites her lip. "I've been avoiding the holonet."

"That's probably a good thing," Cesi decides. She leaves it at that and moves on. "Well, I'm glad Milo called. You are most definitely a fashion emergency, Rey. This will be fun." Lady Flick turns to the saleslady and starts making requests. As usual, Cesi Flick doesn't hesitate to take charge. But far from bristle at this behavior, Rey welcomes it. Shopping is one of Cesi's many areas of expertise, after all. Rey is happy to defer. "The Empress needs everything," Lady Flick judges. "Go call your friend who works down in lingerie and whoever your contact is in shoes and accessories. We have a lot to cover and it would be good if the Empress could depart before the midday rush begins and the paparazzi show up."

"Yes, my lady." The saleslady confers again with an assistant who promptly departs.

"Next time, we'll have them send things over to the palace," Cesi suggests. "Then we can pick and choose in private."

But Rey instantly balks at this idea. "No. I plan to do my shopping in person. Cesi, I won't be a prisoner in the palace."

"Uh huh," Lady Flick just nods and raises an eyebrow. "Well, I'll let you work that out with Kylo . . . er . . . Milo." Cesi is about to say something else when she is interrupted by a silly little electronic tune. "Hold on, that's my phone and that ring is one of the girls." Cesi digs in her purse a moment. Then, "Oh." Lady Flick blinks and looks closer as she watches something one of her daughters has sent her.

"What?" Seeing her friend's face has Rey worried. Suddenly, she has a bad feeling about this.

"Are you ready for this?" Cesi gives Rey a measuring look.

And now Rey is really wary. "Ready for what?"

"You just went viral." Cesi hands over her phone and it's open to a video of Rey telling off the reporters at school and crashing the droids to the ground with the Force. The video caption reads _Check it out-She's magic too!_

"Some kid at school must have had a camera. This looks homemade," media savvy Cesi weighs in as she looks over Rey's shoulder. Cesi takes back her phone and pokes around some more. Then Lady Flick starts chuckling. The chuckle blossoms into a decidedly un-ladylike snort laugh.

Rey gives her a look. "What now?"

"You're a GIF or a meme or whatever it's called." Grinning Cesi Flick shows Rey a quick looping excerpt of her with an upraised hand streaking down as droids hit the turf around her. "Hashtag Force Mommy," she giggles. "Rey, I love it!"

"Oh, fuck," Rey shocks the prim saleslady with her crude curse. Because can today get any worse? After yesterday, Rey had figured that things would have to get better. But apparently not. "Great," she sighs and runs a frustrated hand across her face. "I'm flunking being the Empress and it hasn't even been a day." This is everything Rey had ever feared about being a public figure. "Cesi, I can't do this," she moans. "I am horrible at this."

Cesi purses her lips to consider a long moment. She assesses Rey's woebegone face too. "Nah," Cesi decides, "I think you're just doing it your way. Because this is the girl I remember. One part princess, one part mechanic, two parts Jakku bitch ready to thrown down." Cesi now drops her purse and leaps to her feet. She starts imitating Rey's gesture like it's a dance move. "So fierce! You even had a saucy little hip wiggle to go with it."

"I did not!" Rey grabs back for the phone.

And, oh. She did.

"Now this-" Cesi keeps up with the arm move like it's aerobics class. "This is the girl who broke the hearts of Kylo Ren AND General Hux. If you weren't the quintessential mama bear MILF yesterday, you sure are today."

Rey glares at her friend. She's not in the mood. Which of course is why Cesi is doing this. Like yesterday, her friend is determined to cheer Rey up.

"Stop that, Cesi. You're going to pull something."

"I'll have you know I do pilates three times a week. This old gal is still supple," Cesi crows. "I could do this all day." She is prancing around the small room now as the amused saleslady and Rey look on. "Use the Force! Use the Force!" she chants. "I'm Rey of Jakku and I use the Force!" Cesi tosses her blonde mane over her shoulder and looks back at Rey. "I was cheer captain senior year, you know. Still got it."

"Cesi, you look ridiculous." From the look on the sales lady's face, she agrees. But apparently Cesi Flick is far too good a customer for her to risk offending.

Just now, another saleslady walks in followed by two more clerks. Each has their arms overladen with shoe boxes. At this, Cesi immediately stops. Yes, she's the Chancellor's wife Lady Cessily Flick and she's been caught acting goofy. But really, it's all about the shoes. Shoes are serious business for Lady Flick. There's no clowning around when it's time to talk about shoes.

Half an hour later, the shoes are selected and it's time to move onto clothes. Cesi has strong opinions on what Rey needs to buy as a woman in public life, and it's a gargantuan amount of clothes. Rey puts on the brakes. "Slow down, Cesi. I don't want to buy too much while I'm this skinny. I'm hoping to gain some weight and then none of it will fit."

"Yes, okay." Cesi nods at this wisdom. Then she leans over to laugh. "Rey, I think that's the first time the words 'I hope to gain some weight' have ever been spoken in this dressing room." And even Rey has to crack a smile at this. Still, Lady Flick is unhappy with the pared down selections Rey proposes to purchase. "These are all mom clothes," she complains. "Not Empress clothes."

Rey makes a face. She is not too keen on this Empress gig. "Cesi, I'm not marching around in an evening gown all day. My days dressing as the Sith princess are over."

"The female Senators all dress formally during the day," Cesi points out. "It's considered appropriate attire. Even I wear that when I am at the palace or the Senate. Look, culottes with boots and a tunic are pretty casual for an Empress. It's more busy mom running errands than Empress who rules the galaxy."

"Yeah, well, Kylo rules the galaxy, not me."

"You rule Kylo, ergo you rule the galaxy," Cesi completes the syllogism.

"No one rules Kylo," Rey sighs. "Certainly not me."

"You could, if you wanted to," Cesi disagrees. And Rey lets the point go. But she relents and agrees to buy a few dressier items.

As soon as all the clerks disappear to tally up the purchases, Rey and Cesi are finally alone. Lady Flick gets right to the point. "How did things go last night after the reception? Tell me you didn't sleep with him again-"

"No!"

"Good," Cesi approves. "Make him work for it. Nestor said he ripped Kylo a new one yesterday after that stunt he pulled. Only Kylo does stuff like that. How is Titus doing?"

"I think what happened is starting to sink in. He was very worried about school today."

"I can imagine. That poor kid," Cesi commiserates. "I can't believe Kylo put you and Titus through that. What an asshole."

Rey wholeheartedly agrees. "Wait until you hear his grand plan for us."

"Yes?"

"So he's going to keep seeing other women-"

"Kylo is such a man whore."

"And get this-he wants us to be friends."

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Not a chance," Cesi decides. "Being friends is how normal people break up. And you guys are not normal. You and Kylo are hand-cutting-off-lock-you-in-the-basement-and-you-still-have-sex weird. You're either going to love each other or kill each other. And since you lived yesterday, Rey, I guess that means love."

"What?" Rey blinks at this logic.

"I don't know," Cesi muses. "Maybe it was meant to be. Maybe it's the Force," she suggests dramatically. Lady Flick leaps to her feet now to resume her earlier dance moves. She seems relentless in her desire to bring a smile to Rey's face. "Use the Force!" she laughs as she imitates Rey's gesture at school. "Go tame your man with the Force like you smashed those droids."

"Sit down!" Rey complains grumpily. "That's not how the Force works."


	26. Chapter 26

_What the fuck was that, Kylo?_ _Can you and Rey not keep your issues in private?_

At first, Kylo thinks Nestor is referring to the live on-air Empire Day coverage watched by billions. But it turns out that the public audience is not his concern.

 _Did you have to drag the kid into it?_ _What the fuck were you thinking?_

 _It didn't work out like I had planned._

 _I sure as Hell hope not!_

Rey was supposed to kneel and beg for mercy like the rest of the prisoners. Then he would pardon her. With a wave of his hand, her cuffs would release. Kylo would offer his hand to help her stand. Clasp her to his chest as a sign of reconciliation and then introduce her to the galaxy as his Empress. See? Darth Ren can be a forgiving man when he wants. He had offered a broad amnesty after the war and he planned to offer that same clemency to Rey too. Showing the galaxy how reasonable he is while at the same time affirming his dominance too. He is, after all, a new breed of benevolent Sith.

Yes, this year Empire Day was supposed to end on a happy note. The crowd would be impressed. The press would be fawning and breathless. Rey would be maneuvered into her official role as a quid pro quo for freedom. More importantly, he and Rey would reach a personal detente of sorts. A political marriage behind closed doors, but a quasi-marriage all the same. They would be allies and parents together. And someday, maybe even friends.

Just not lovers. He's made that mistake twice now. Never again.

 _You only get one chance to raise that kid, Kylo._ _Stop fucking up your kid!_

 _Titus is no fuck up._ _Did you see those moves?_ _I counted six guys he choked at once._ _He's a pint-sized Vader._

 _Yeah?_ _Well take note, asshole, because the next guy he chokes might be you!_ _You need to be really careful with the kid and Rey now._ _Because if this is what Titus can do at twelve with only a few months of teaching, at twenty you're gonna be a fucking Force ghost, Kylo._ _Then I'll be his Chancellor._

 _That will never happen._

 _Maybe._ _Maybe not._ _Maybe the kid will kill himself first._

 _He was bluffing._ _It was just a negotiating tactic._

 _Don't count on that._ _I have three teenagers, Kylo, so I speak from experience when I say they all do stupid shit._ _And your kid is an emotional drama queen just like you._

 _What the fuck does that mean?_

 _It means that you and Rey need to get it together._

Moving on was the plan all along, and it's why Kylo had arranged for Rey's public pardon. Empire Day was supposed to be a three-way win-win. He would keep the proximity to Rey's Light and gain her ideas and influence as his Empress. Titus would get his beloved mother back and a chance to learn the Light. Rey would be out of her cell and free to learn and use the Force.

Rey's long absence from his life would be publicly explained by her imprisonment. Kylo would be shown to be a tough but fair ruler who can be forgiving. Rey would play the role of reformed sinner who has come to see the error of her ways to support his regime. Their marriage would be a symbol of progress. Two former enemies united to work together for a better future. For peace and order. For Titus.

But then Rey had balked and Titus had started slaughtering everyone in sight before coolly raising a blaster to his head. It was typical Skywalker drama with swords and bodies and screaming about family and the Force. This was everything Kylo Ren has ever wanted to avoid and it was gallingly public. Worse still, it was his own fault. And that's why he is taking this tongue-lashing now from Nestor Flick. He knows he deserves it.

 _What the fuck brought this on?_ _Because this is a new low, Kylo._ _It's not enough to ruin her life and keep her in solitary, now you want her to beg at your feet for mercy?_ _Newsflash, asshole, women don't go for those tactics._ _You'll never win her back that way._

 _I slept with her._

 _You . . ._ _Oh._ _That's what this is about?_ _I told you not to do that._ _Why the fuck did you do that?_

 _I couldn't help it._

 _Bullshit!_ _Thinking with your dick didn't win you an Empire, Kylo!_

 _I offered to free her if she would be with me._ _She turned me down._ _That fucking bitch turned me down!_ _It's just like before._ _She'll let me fuck her but she won't love me._

 _So you decided to kill her?_

 _I was never going to kill her._

 _Did she know that?_ _Because the kid didn't._

 _She turned me down!_ _She would rather live in a cell than be with me!_

 _After yesterday, can you blame her?_

Nestor is being overly pessimistic, Kylo decides. Empire Day had ended fine, with the boy making a good public showing and Rey ultimately begging and desperate like he had wanted all along. His original plan is salvageable and last night Rey had seemed mostly onboard. So, things could still work out in the end. It's unfortunate that their dysfunction is exposed and their Skywalker identity revealed. The holonet is having a field day parsing through transcripts of the confrontation. Even legitimate friendly news sources attempt to divine the meaning behind it all. Not that it matters. Emperor Ren is a Sith Master and he answers to no one. He only explains when he wishes.

 _Look, Empire Day was just to scare her._ _I'm keeping Rey around for the kid, for the galaxy, and for the Force._ _But I'm moving on personally._

 _Yeah, right._ _I've heard that before._

 _Fuck you, Nestor!_ _Not everyone has a Cesi who stands by her man for decades through thick and thin._

 _If I treated Cesi like you treat Rey, she would have left me years ago._ _Learn to apologize, Kylo._ _Learn to put things behind you._

 _I'm putting her behind me._

 _How are you going to do that if she's the Empress?_

 _I won't divorce her._ _I'll just take a mistress._ _She'll be fine with that._

 _Will the kid be fine with that?_

 _Who cares?_ _That's not his business._

 _You don't get it, do you?_ _She is the key to the kid._ _If things are fucked with her, they are fucked with the kid._ _This is everything you said you wanted to avoid, Kylo._

 _Don't you think I know that?_ _I'm over her and we're moving on._ _She will have a good life and I will have a good life._ _Separately._

 _Living in the same palace?_

 _It's for the kid._

 _You blew this._ _You blew this big time, Kylo!_ _All you had to do was suck up your hurt and treat her well in the first place._ _But being your angry Sith self, you just couldn't do that, could you?_ _Why the fuck did you sleep with her?_

 _I wasn't thinking._

 _Obviously!_ _I knew Rey was trouble when I first saw how she lived on Jakku._ _She's probably the only person in the galaxy with as many issues as you have._

 _That's why she understood me._

 _Yeah?_ _Well, it's also why she left you._

 _Nestor, you fucker, don't you have a Senate to run?_

 _Yes, and you have an Empire to rule._ _I'm not telling you this just because I'm your friend, Kylo._ _I'm telling you this as your Chancellor._ _We didn't kill our way to power only to have you crater because you can't handle your personal life._ _And we don't need a coup attempt by a twelve-year-old._ _So get your shit together, Kylo._ _Make peace with Rey and with your kid._

That is advice that Kylo does not intend to take. He is no mood to start apologizing or explaining to Rey. He's far too hurt by her latest rejection. But he does see the wisdom in Nestor's words. And he meant what he told Rey—he would like for them to eventually be friends. And so, Kylo decides that his strategy will be to avoid conflict with Rey. Going forward, he will do his part to ratchet down the drama. That will be good for everyone, he reasons.

Things start to change fast with Rey out of her cell. Kylo has never lived with a wife and child, so this is all new to him. The girls Milo finds him are always slotted into his life to accommodate him completely. Basically, they are invisible. Not so with Rey. Immediately, she starts making her influence felt in small ways. And she inadvertently starts messing with his routines.

Kylo has an unexpected break in his schedule one afternoon so he summons the kid for some Force talk. He is told that the young Master is not at home. He's with Rey and they are out exploring the city. Joyriding in a palace speeder with a twelve-year-old at the controls. Scavenger girl Rey wants to see more than Coruscant's Upper Level. So she takes the kid to the boring proletariat Middle Level and then to the grimy tenements on the Lower Level. What's next, he complains. Taking his preteen to smoke spice at a strip club in the Underworld? Titus needs to see how real people live, Rey informs him. Even a Sith prince could benefit from the common touch. Rey seems determined to ensure that Titus not become a creature of the palace, insulated and entitled. This isn't exactly the influence Kylo was hoping Rey would provide. But it's a worthy goal, so Kylo decides to let it slide.

The next night the kid is nowhere to be found at dinner time. Where are they now, he gripes to Vanee. Rey has gone to fetch Titus from a friend's house. And that news annoys Kylo. Rey has long been inordinately concerned that Titus has friends. Now that she's out of her cell, Rey goes out of her way to facilitate it. She is projecting her own loneliness issues on the kid, Kylo disapproves. So he waits impatiently on the landing platform for their return. Unrepentant Rey offers no excuse but Titus outright lies to him. We were studying and we lost track of time, his son maintains. But he looks so uncharacteristically happy that Kylo lets it slide.

A few standard rotations later, Kylo makes a day trip to Chandrila. Emperor Ren makes regular visits to troublesome Core Worlds to make his presence known. Kylo returns to the palace too late for any Force training with Titus but he seeks his kid out all the same. But the boy isn't in his room doing homework. He's down the hall sprawled on the couch next to Milo watching the old guy's favorite holonet game show. Rey is here too Kylo senses in the Force. She's probably sitting on the floor where he can't see her. She still hasn't lost that habit of Jakku.

Kylo pauses on the room threshold watching. What is the Battle of Hoth? What is the Invasion of Naboo? His kid makes short work of the military history category. But Milo is the one with all the modern art and geography answers. Rey only shouts out answers for the popular culture topics. She probably doesn't know any of the rest. The category for the final question is Famous Separatists. No one can remember the name of the Neimoidian leader of the Trade Federation. Lord Sidious despised him, Milo recalls, and his name is on the tip of my tongue. Time is almost up so Kylo decides to announce himself. Who is Nute Gunray, he calls out as he strides into the room.

Everyone turns around in surprise looking like they have been caught doing something they shouldn't be. It stings a little to feel like the interloper in his own home with his own family. To be the person who spoils the fun instead of joins in it. This ought to be the point when his kid turns around and smiles hello. When his wife gives him a kiss to welcome him home and asks about his day. But that's clearly not happening. Kylo has a sarcastic remark ready for his disappointing clan but he holds his fire. He decides to let it slide.

After that first day of freedom when Rey breaks the holonet destroying droids and talking trash to the press, she begins to run loose in the city. Rey drops Titus at school each morning and then starts exploring. She quickly becomes Coruscant's unofficial chief tourist, with random sightings of his distant Empress becoming trending topics on the holonet. Here is Rey at the Imperial War Museum, here is Rey standing with everyone else in the public Senate gallery, here is Rey wandering the esplanades of the Upper Level. She's also something of the galaxy's First Housewife spotted at the market buying fruit, standing in line with everyone else for caf, and speeding in late for carpool.

Whatever the public had expected from its new Empress, this everyday accessibility was not it. And it has Milo very concerned. The blaster in her purse is not sufficient protection. She must have real security, the faithful family retainer contends. You have enemies across the galaxy who might seek to harm her. To use her for leverage against you. Kylo just shrugs. After Empire Day, his enemies probably consider Rey to be one of them. And heaven help anyone who tries to capture Rey, he thinks. Her stunt that first day at carpool pretty much put the galaxy on notice not to fuck with her. Plus, he is supposed to be avoiding conflict with Rey. So when Milo deliberately raises the issue of security in front of him at breakfast one day, Kylo declines to take the bait.

"We had a deal. I'm not your prisoner anymore." Rey is ready for a fight.

But Kylo surprises her when he easily agrees. "Suit yourself, Rey. But if you get kidnapped wandering around Coruscant, don't complain. You should know that you're likely to get killed though. Because I don't negotiate with terrorists, I won't pay a ransom, and I do not give in to demands. So don't say you weren't warned."

Titus looks alarmed. "Mom, maybe you should accept some security."

Rey tosses her hair over her shoulder and raises her chin. "I took care of myself for years before your father came along. I can take care of myself now." Yep . . . it's more of Rey's Jakku bluster. It was cute when it first impressed him years ago and it's just as cute now, Kylo thinks. Not that he's noticed.

Titus is persistent. "He is the reason you are in danger. At least accept his protection. Milo said you had guards before. Can't you at least wear a tracker?"

"There was a war going on back then," Rey counters. "Things were different."

And that's the understatement of the year, Kylo decides. "Kid, back then your mother was reasonable. And she aimed to please."

Rey rolls her eyes. Then she leaves to take Titus to school and resumes enjoying her unaccompanied freedom once again. Within an hour, she's the fourth topic trending on the holonet. Rey is just a novelty, Kylo tells himself as he continually checks her coverage throughout the day on some sites and blogs. All this attention will soon wane and the public will move on to the next big thing. Still, Rey has over a billion hits and counting on that homemade droid smashing video. And, yeah, a thousand of those hits may have come from him. But Rey has thoroughly upstaged him, and Kylo had not expected that. Once again, Rey has subverted his expectations.

When out and about, Rey wears one of four rotating outfits that have become so familiar that the holonet gives them names. It's three versions of culottes, tall boots, and a tunic plus one casual dress. Each worn with a bag bouncing on her hip and her long hair lifting with the breeze. Rey looks young, casual and ordinary, albeit in a superluxe, polished way. For the boots and the purse each cost a month's rent in the Middle Level. Overall, the look is celebrity MILF and not elegant Empress. Snoke would be aghast and Milo is too. But Kylo doesn't much care. As long as Rey looks and acts like an Empress at official events, she can do what she wants on her own time. He, for one, fails to see what all the fuss is about.

It is strange to him that Rey's everywoman shtick is so appealing. Maybe it's because her lack of pretention contrasts sharply to his own rigid adherence to formal protocol. Or maybe all this openness is unexpected for a woman married to a man who hides his face. Rey's daily visibility is nothing like his own semi-reclusive nature. The Empress takes selfies in line with strangers while the Emperor rarely appears at social events at his own palace. She drives her own speeder and is photographed pumping her own fuel. And that's not anything that anyone expects Emperor Ren to do. It gives Rey a girl-next-door quality that his PR types tell him is relatable. It also helps the public forget that she's the scary mama with the Force. The galaxy at large seems quite ready to forgive Rey her catalog of crimes read aloud on Empire Day. Because whatever the Empress did, it couldn't be that bad. Because no woman who smiles absently at babies in strollers and who is polite to droids can be that bad.

All this average ordinariness is so completely Rey, Kylo thinks. Not just because his girl from Jakku is unpretentious at heart. But because her desire to blend in and to be normal is also very Jakku. This is why Rey had found happiness with Cade Biggs, Kylo realizes. Because Biggs gave her the day-to-day stability and humdrum family life she never had growing up and desperately wanted. So if finding a version of that on Coruscant will help Rey be his Empress, then Kylo is fine with it. When Milo yet again raises the issues of security, Kylo shuts him down.

For the most part, Rey ignores him now. The bitchy comments and dirty looks are gone. She's sort of casually indifferent. Very distant. Kylo can't decide if that is better or worse. But he does his part too and the atmosphere between them becomes considerably less tense. And that's necessary because the tension with Titus is at an all-time high. If the kid wasn't on Team Mom before, he is now. This is the real damage of Empire Day, Kylo realizes as he glances over at his sullen, sour faced son. And it's one more reason why it's good to keep Rey around. Rey cajoles Titus to smile and she gets him to talk. Kylo tolerates their mother-son afternoon adventures on Coruscant in part so the kid will have some attention.

His son seems very intense. And while Kylo recognizes that same trait in himself, he is not successful in dealing with it in his kid. Maybe he and Titus are just too alike. Two intense personalities that tend to escalate matters and feed off each other. In some ways, Kylo is disappointed that his son is not as resilient as Rey. Maybe that's the saving grace of Rey's past, Kylo decides. It helps her take life-and him-in stride. Rey is a survivor. But Titus . . . not so much. He's a Skywalker and, well, the kid feels and broods.

As before, the only thing he and Titus can successfully talk about is the Force. The kid seems more interested than ever. It's a strange dynamic at dinner each night as Sith Master Kylo lectures while his boy listens in and Rey is conspicuously quiet. Has the kid been hooked by his first real taste of Dark power on Empire Day? Or is this a Dark plot in the making? For Kylo can't shake the feeling that his son's keen interest is motivated by ill will. That in time, this Apprentice too will seek to supplant his Master in the age-old cycle of murder that Bane had made tradition and Plagueis had wanted to end. That once again, a Skywalker will turn on a Skywalker. That the Force will divide and not unite.

If that is the case, then there is only one solution to this issue. The boy needs more Light.

It's a full two-day journey to Mustafar Castle from Coruscant, so it is the better part of a week before Vanee returns with Vader's Jedi holochrons. Kylo himself personally oversees the unloading of ten crates marked with the fading Old Empire insignia, some with the word "Executor" painted across in large letters. As curious palace staff look on, Kylo walks escort to the winding line of floating crates. The procession continues deep into the personal quarters of his palace to Kylo's private library. It's a cosy room paneled in handsome dark wood. Three of four walls have shelves laden with real paperbound books alongside more modern datafiles. In the center is a reference table lit from above with two chairs.

These tomes are the archives of the Sith, they are a repository for the secrets of Darkness, they are heirlooms well-loved and intended to be passed down. Open any of the oldest texts and you will find faded handwritten notations in the margins on each page. For long ago, some Sith had poured over the lesson and made it his own with scribbled notes. No doubt knowing that his input would be passed down generations as well. In this manner, the cumulative knowledge and experience of the Shadow Force continues. A Master teaches his Apprentice, who one day kills him and steals the library, then takes his own Apprentice, and the cycle repeats. All this power, all this history, is sacred to Dark priests like himself. And so, his library is kept locked with the Force.

As the line of staff members and crates backs up behind him, Kylo concentrates a moment and the door opens. Inside, he catches Titus huddled over a book.

Kylo is taken aback. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

His boy ignores the question. He's too preoccupied with the crates that are being pushed in and neatly stacked in the corner. "What's all this? Did you score more books?" he asks eagerly.

"You're cloaking your imprint," Kylo is so surprised to realize this that he says it aloud. "That's why I didn't know you were here."

His boy reddens a bit with pride. "I read it in a book," he mumbles. "Wasn't sure I got it right, but I guess I did." The boy's eyes wander back to the crates. "Are these more books?"

In a fashion, yes. Kylo nods. "This is Lord Vader's personal library."

"Whoa—for real?"

"Yes. Vanee brought it back from the castle. Those crates contain the Jedi version of our books." Kylo dismisses the staff. Now it's just himself, Titus and Vanee. "Do you make a habit of skipping school?" he slants the boy some serious side eye now.

"School is stupid. I'd rather study the Force."

"Don't let your mother hear you say that," Kylo retorts. But he himself remembers having that same attitude when he was Titus' age, only young Kylo Ren had wanted to study the Clone Wars.

His kid is unconcerned. "I'll be back at school before she gets there to pick me up. She'll never know."

"So you've done this before," Kylo observes. "How'd you get here?"

"The free public transport. There's a stop a few blocks away."

Kylo raises an eyebrow. "Let me guess—it's a fun challenge to sneak onto the palace grounds and past the guards."

The boy shakes his head. "I don't have to do that anymore. They all recognize me. You know . . . after Empire Day . . . "

"Yes. No doubt they don't want to get choked by the enfante terrible of the First Order," Kylo smirks. "Such an ignominious end."

"What's it to you?" Titus bristles. "You wouldn't care if I choked a guard," he accuses. And it's true.

Still, Kylo feels the need to take the kid down a peg or two. It's not like he himself couldn't Vader choke six men at once too. At least six. Maybe more like twelve. No, at least twelve. The exact number doesn't matter because it's way more than the kid could ever manage. So Kylo is smug as he informs his son, "Those men are trained to die in the service of the Emperor. Not to die at the hands of Kylo Ren's brat." And wait—that came out a little harsh.

Titus glares at him. Kylo ignores this. He's seen it before.

"Master, would you like me to help unload?" Vanee offers his assistance as he gestures to the empty wall of shelves that stand awaiting their new contents.

"That will not be necessary," Kylo decides. "Titus and I will do it tonight."

"Why did Vader keep Jedi books?" his curious boy asks as he wanders over to lift the nearest lid. "And why did you have Vanee bring back all this stuff?"

"It's a surprise for your mother," Kylo admits.

"Really?" Now the boy is definitely intrigued.

"Master, there is one more thing," Vanee ventures. "I took the liberty of retrieving this as well. In the event it is appropriate now."

Vanee holds out a small black velvet bag that jogs a memory long forgotten. Kylo accepts it reluctantly. "Thank you, Vanee. That will be all."

"What's that?" Titus wants to know. "Is it a surprise for Mom too?"

Kylo tosses the little sack on the table with distaste. "It's nothing." He walks over to the crate Titus peeked in. Kylo rips off the cover and then selects an item. It is carefully wrapped to avoid damage in transit, so Kylo has to unwind it from a skein of gauze. Underneath is a blue cube ornately trimmed in gold. It glows faintly in his hand.

"What is it? It's beautiful," his boy breathes out. And it pleases Kylo that his normally blasé kid is impressed.

"A Jedi holochron." Kylo strips off his left glove now to run his bare hand over the glowing cube that countless Jedi, including his beloved grandfather, would have touched. The sheer power of the hands that have held this cube impresses him. "It is a relic of the Light," he tells his son with reverence. "My grandfather—your great-grandfather-collected them."

"A holochron," the boy is staring at the cube. "I thought only the Sith had holochrons."

"The Jedi did too." Kylo hands it over. "My Master would say that all knowledge is valuable. Snoke would not have allowed you to skip school at this age. I too disapprove," Kylo adds mostly because he feels like he ought to. "But if you are going to skip school, then you must learn something." Kylo points now to the cube. "Learn this."

"Okay," the boy eagerly agrees. "But how?"

"Figure it out." Then Kylo grabs for the discarded little bag and stalks off. "Lock up with the Force when you leave," he calls out as he departs.

Two hours later, Kylo is on his throne watching an admiral and his direct report sweat bullets as they attempt to explain how they lost a star destroyer by venturing too far into the truly unknown parts of the Unknown Regions. At least one person is going to die for this offense. Maybe more. But these days, Kylo likes to use his violence sparingly and for maximum effect. So he has his highest ranking military officers assembled to witness the punishment. As the admiral he's about to make an example out of stammers more excuses, Kylo sits back in silence debating whether to kill just him or his assistant too. The incompetent admiral is lying outright to him while the other man wants to be truthful but is reticent to contradict his superior in this setting. Finally, Kylo has heard enough. "You have failed me for the last time," he decides. Then he starts choking the admiral with the Force.

As anticipated, the other man starts spewing forth the truth when it becomes clear this his boss is a goner. "Excellency, we didn't doublecheck the chief navigator even though we knew we were jumping into risky space. . . . when the jump went bad, he argued with the navigator rather than focused on the problem. Then, he delayed the evacuation even when it was clear the ship was scuttled. He ordered all officers out and he himself was first in the lifepod. Everything in the official report was a coverup . . . most of the investigation was a lie . . . "

Yes, he knows. "All the responsible parties for a mistake of this magnitude go down with the ship. Instead, you saved your skins first and left the majority of the rank and file to die. That is not leadership," Kylo observes coldly as the lying admiral now drops to his knees.

"We were following orders," the assistant wails. "His orders." He points to his nearly dead boss.

Kylo is about to begin choking the assistant next when Rey bursts into his throne room unannounced. She rushes forward to step over the downed admiral and in front of his doomed first mate. "He's not at school!" Rey looks stricken. "Kylo, Titus is not at school! No one knows where he is!"

From this, Kylo surmises that his son never returned to school today. Rey must have gone to pick him up and returned emptyhanded. Her anxiety is screaming at him in the Force.

"Go look in my library," he tells Rey dismissively. Kylo is irritated by the disruption. Executions should be swift and dignified and not muddled up with domestic drama. "He's probably in my library."

"Kylo, he's not here! I can't feel him in the Force!" He can sense Rey's rising panic and hear it in her voice. She's close to tears.

"He's hiding in the Force," Kylo informs her. "That's why you can't sense him. He's probably still there. He skipped school this afternoon. Now, if you don't mind, I'm in the middle of killing someone. Let these men die with dignity, Rey."

"Oh." Those words must penetrate Rey's rattled mind because now she looks down at the body of the admiral and then over at his trembling assistant. "What did you do?" she asks the man still standing.

Kylo answers for him. "He says he followed orders."

"Is that true?" Rey asks the man.

"Y-Yes."

"He's telling the truth," Rey turns back to Kylo. "Kylo, this man is telling the truth."

"Yes, I know." He too senses these things in the Force. "Well, Empress, what should I do about that?"

Rey looks taken aback. "How should I know? I don't even know what he did. But whatever it is, you shouldn't kill him for it if he wasn't responsible for the decision." Rey frowns at Kylo and cocks her head with righteous umbrage. "Aren't you supposed to be Darth Ren the Just? A just man doesn't punish innocents for another's actions."

And this is just the logical excuse Kylo needs to show clemency. Waving a breezy hand in the direction of his next victim, Kylo shoots him with a single bolt of Force lightning. The man crashes to the floor. But before he can even get up, Kylo is climbing down from his high throne and striding past. "Come," he tells Rey as he grabs her arm to propel her forward with him. "I'm done here. Let's go find the kid. I have something to show you." Now that Rey is here, he's bored with the lost star destroyer issue. It's nowhere near as important as the holochrons, after all. Kylo is halfway across his impressive throne room when he remembers all his assembled military brass. "Dismissed!" he barks over his shoulder.

Kylo always walks fast but today Rey is moving even faster and he's half jogging to keep up. By the time they round the corner of the hallway to his library, his Empress breaks into an outright run. Kylo waves a hand and the door slides open just in time for Rey to dart in.

"You're here!" Rey is both relieved and upset at the same time.

"Hi Mom. Uh . . . "

Rey doesn't wait for excuses, she launches into complaints. "Titus! You terrified me!" Rey is the epitome of an outraged mother and it's uncomfortably familiar for Kylo. He remembers Leia Organa doing the same routine years ago. "I show up at school for pickup and you're gone. No one knows where you are!"

"Uhm . . . " His boy is searching for a convenient lie. Kylo has his helmet off now so Titus meets his eyes with a beseeching look. Apparently, his Sith Master father holding a lit sword on Empire Day doesn't intimidate half so much as shrill Rey does today.

"Skipping school? Titus, you know how I feel about that-"

"Lay off, Mom." His boy rallies. "I'm fine. Plus, I know all the math I missed. No harm, no foul."

"That's not the point! And I will not lay off!" Yep, Rey is going for the full Leia Organa now. Hands on hips in the posture of a woman who feels disrespected and isn't going to stand for it. Kylo is starting to feel sorry for the kid when Rey whirls and turns her fury on him. "You thought this was okay?" she accuses. And what did he do? This was all the kid's doing, as far as Kylo is concerned.

"Well?" Rey prompts him.

"He said he was going back to school," Kylo glares over at his son who has managed to get them both busted.

"I lost track of time," the boy whines.

"There you have it," Kylo declares the issue done. He's ready to skip the nagging and get to things that matter. Like the holochrons. He turns to Titus. "Well . . . did you open it?"

"No."

"Open what?" Rey doesn't understand.

"This." Titus pulls the gleaming blue and gold cube from his lap and plunks it on the table.

Rey inhales a sharp breath. "A holochron." Her reaction pleases Kylo. For this is the reverence due to an icon of the Force. "Titus, where did you get this?" Rey reaches to pick up the cube.

"He gave it to me." Titus looks to Kylo.

Now Rey does the same. "Where did you get it?"

"It's mine," Kylo answers with quiet pride. "Along with all the rest."

"There's more?" Rey gasps. "You have more?"

"Yes, look." Kylo beckons her over to the open crate to fish out another wrapped cube. "Vader collected Jedi holochrons from temples and dead Jedi all across the galaxy. He hid them from Sidious and stored them at his castle."

"I thought Vader just collected lightsabers," Rey murmurs as she watches Kylo slowly unwrap the cube. "I thought his collection was a bunch of trophies from his kills."

"My grandfather was the original Chosen One. A Sith who wanted all of the power-the Light and the Dark. When the Republic fell, he and Darth Sidious wiped out the Jedi Order. But Vader didn't reject all of the Jedi teachings. My grandfather was a pragmatist and he understood the power of knowledge."

"How many are there?" Rey wants to know.

"Over a hundred. With my uncle dead and the Jedi extinct, this is all the knowledge of the Jedi that remains today. These holochrons are beyond value." Kylo turns to look first at Rey and then at his son. He wants them to understand how important these pretty cubes are. "In the end, these holochrons will be the most important legacy of Darth Vader. They are his gift to the future and to our family."

"Master Luke would have loved this," Rey says softly as she reaches to pluck out and unwrap a cube of her own.

"My uncle had his chance," Kylo gripes. "Vader wanted to teach him all he knew as a Jedi and as a Sith. So that they could rule the galaxy as father and son. So that my uncle would learn both the Light and the Dark. But Luke Skywalker was a fool and turned him down."

"He turned Snoke down too," Rey recalls aloud the stories she has heard.

"Yes, several times."

"So a Sith safeguarded what remains of the Jedi heritage," Rey observes quietly. "How ironic."

Yes, it's yet another bizarre aspect of life among the Skywalkers. But Kylo sees the punchline a bit differently. "Rey, my grandfather was a Skywalker first and a Sith second." How else do you understand a man who wanted to kill his former colleagues but also wanted to learn from them? How else do you understand a ruthless man who acted on sentiment to save his son and betrayed his Master to do it? Lord Vader, like his unacknowledged father Lord Plagueis, craved power, craved knowledge, and craved love. Not unlike the young boy standing with them now who skips school not to waste time with his friends but to study the Force. Not unlike Kylo himself who in younger days ran away to beg training from an exiled Sith lord who had believed in him and called him son. These men are the Skywalkers and they are the first family of the Force. They lust for power, they die for ambition, and they are fools for love. Luke Skywalker was the outlier, Kylo thinks. For he has come to agree with Snoke's view that his uncle is the tragedy of their clan. The Last Jedi had so much potential and so much power. But it was wasted on ideals of a bygone generation and vendettas that belonged to someone else.

"What's in the cubes?" his son now asks. "What exactly am I trying to learn?"

"It varies," Kylo responds. "Much of the collection focuses on Force techniques to heal." And that makes a certain sense. For maimed and fragile Lord Vader was always looking for secrets to heal. "The rest focus on combat techniques. Lightsaber forms, battle trances, that sort of thing. There's a few on treaty negotiation strategies and Jedi history. And there's even one my grandfather made when he was still a Jedi."

"Have you watched them all?" Titus asks. He's clearly intrigued and impressed.

"No. I haven't watched any," Kylo admits. "Vader catalogued them all. That's how I know what they contain."

"How come neither you nor Snoke ever told me about these?" Rey asks suspiciously.

"Snoke would never have told you while my uncle was still alive. It was too big a secret to risk, Rey."

"But Snoke died on Crait. Why didn't you tell me then?" she wants to know.

"There was a war going on, remember? And the issue wasn't as pressing then as it is now." There was no yellow eyed kid to worry about, Kylo thinks. He looks to his estranged pretend wife and bestows on her his most prized possessions. "Rey, the holochrons are for you. I want you to learn the knowledge of the Jedi. Then I want you to teach it to Titus." Kylo steps forward to take her empty hand. Kylo presses the cube he holds into her grip so that she holds two holochrons now. Then he covers both of her hands with his own. "No one else can do this but you," he half-whispers as he looks down into her bright eyes. "Do it for the galaxy, so that this wisdom is not forever lost. Do it for Titus, so that he will learn to balance the Force. So that he will not get too Dark. Do it for me because . . . because . . . "

Kylo is struggling to find a reason she should do anything for him now. Because Nestor is right that he has treated Rey horribly. He feels a rare and uncomfortable pang of remorse. "Do it for me because I loved you. Before we knew you were a Palpatine, before you knew the Force, back when you were just a scavenger on Jakku who looked for flowers in the desert . . . I loved you. Everyone else thought you were the lowest of the low, but you were everything to me . . . once . . . " And yikes, as usual he has gone too far. Said too much. Kylo feels himself flush.

It's a hushed moment and he sees her eyes dart past him to their son. Sensing the advantage, he presses forward as a Sith Master should. "I need your help, Rey. He needs your help. Titus needs a teacher."

Rey slowly nods and decides. "I'll do it. But I'm doing it for myself, Kylo. I promised myself that if ever I got out of that cell, I would learn the Force. It's so I can properly teach Titus. But mostly, it's so I will never again be at your mercy." Rey looks him squarely in the eyes now. This is an important moment. "After I learn the Force, there won't be a cell you can hold me in. You won't ever be able to parade me around in chains." Rey is breathing a little heavily as she says this and her eyes are sparking at him too. The Force swirls around them in frenetic movements anticipating action. "I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine," she half-whispers as her eyes bore into his with an intensity that is unsettling. And exciting too.

Kylo nods solemnly at her words. "I'm counting on it. I have only ever wanted you for an equal, Rey. You know that." Then he tears his eyes away. For her will-to-power vow spoken with their hands clasped around holochron cubes is the most erotic thing Kylo has ever seen. It's as hot as any fantasy he has had of romancing Rey on the ritual table of his temple. As sexy as daydreams about her straddling him naked on his throne. If their son weren't standing here now, Kylo would be kissing Rey senseless now. He would be rushing headlong forward into another mistake, hopefully culminating in another blaze of Light from the pleasure in her arms.

But Kylo stops himself. He gives his mind the mental shake he needs to recall his resolution to move on. He and Rey will be co-parents, co-teachers and, perhaps in some matters, co-rulers. But never again lovers.

Kylo steps back fast, knowing it's time to go. She's got him on the defensive and it's time to flee the scene. He's achieved what he wanted anyhow, so there is no need to linger. He doesn't want to risk that he might succumb again to her lure.

"Help your mother stack the cubes on the shelf," he instructs his son. "I'll see you tonight. We'll talk more about cloaking your imprint." Kylo is three quick paces to the door before he remembers the trinket in his pocket. "Here Rey," he gets her attention as he places the small black velvet bag on the library table. "Vanee brought this back from the castle. Since you are the Empress, you should wear it. Talk to him if you need to resize it."

"What is it?" Rey sets the two holochrons down as she steps forward to investigate.

"It's your engagement ring," Kylo answers while looking away. For that ring and all the hope and love it represents must be tucked into the past. It's time to move on. "Talk to Vanee. He can arrange to have a wedding band made to match. People will expect you to wear a ring. Cesi Flick is going to want hers back."

"Wow. It's big." Rey has already reached into the little bag to retrieve and open the box within. Reluctantly, Kylo glances over at the gift he hasn't thought about in over a decade. Not since he threw it hard against the wall of Vader's castle with his newly attached and still very painful mechanical hand. The ring has a large red stone cut in a rectangle set atop a shiny black band.

"The stone is kyber," he tells her what she probably already knows. For the crystal of the ring is uniquely attuned to the Force.

"It's very Sith," Rey observes. And she's right. It is a ring for a Sith's lady, for the forever wife of a Dark priest of the Force. It was chosen as a talisman for their love. Intended to endure, like their union and the slash on her hand, for many lifetimes. But that's not how things have turned out.

Rey doesn't hide her dislike as she closes the box with a sharp snap. "This isn't me at all." His princess of the Light isn't keen to wear a Sith's black ring. He sees that now. But his romantic, lovesick younger self had not. Back then, he had believed Rey would be proud to be his lady.

Kylo is flustered now at her implicit rejection of his ring as well as himself. Nothing pleases this woman, it seems. How he wishes her opinion did not matter so much. "Vanee will buy you something else . . . if you don't like it," he says a bit awkwardly. Self-consciously. Then he immediately reverts to a sneer. "Pick out whatever you want. It's only for show."

Kylo is seriously rattled now as he stomps off. Shaken by how drawn he is to Rey despite all that has happened. Theirs was the one true love that just didn't work out and cannot be salvaged. He has to move on, Kylo tells himself. He's got to move on. There will never be another Rey but there might be another woman who can make him happy. Is that too much to ask in life? Just a little happiness? Why is it that power is so much easier to attain than happiness?

Milo is waiting in his office with Nestor to talk about the troublesome junior Senator from Coruscant. It's a quick conversation. When they are done, he turns to Milo. "Get me a girl for the weekend. One of the marriage candidates will do. But be honest with her. I'm not going to marry her. The best she gets is a mistress." And maybe also his love that his wife habitually scorns.

"Yes, Master." His discrete servant bows low as he withdraws from the room, leaving just the Emperor and his Chancellor alone.

Nestor sits back in his chair and gives him a sympathetic look. "Run in with Rey?" he asks.

"I'm moving on." Kylo says this decisively. He's trying to convince himself as much as Nestor. "I'm moving on. Maybe this new girl will be the one."

"Kylo—don't do this to yourself—stop messing around with these young girls-"

"I'm moving on." He's got to move on.

"Then find someone more appropriate in age and life experience. Find someone you have something in common with. Quit looking for love with girls half your age, Kylo. It will never work. Look, Cesi can be discrete as she asks around—"

"No." He wants a woman who is young and unsullied by life. A girl hopeful and charming like Rey had been before war and loss and life had made her into the bitter bitch she is today. A girl who will make him feel young again. Ambitious and bold again like before war and loss and life had made him into the depressive loner he is today. Doggedly, Kylo sticks to his plan. He's ready to move on now. He just needs to find another Rey.


	27. Chapter 27

"Oh, good. You came." Cesi ushers Rey in past the pair of Imperial guards who flank the entrance to the Flick family home. The Chancellor and his family live in a sprawling penthouse aerie not far from the palace. Inside, it's just as gorgeous as Rey expects. Lady Flick has excellent taste and the budget to implement it. Instantly, Rey loves the homey luxury of it all that contrasts sharply with the coldly formal palace she now calls home.

"Cesi, this is great. I love it," Rey says appreciatively.

"Yeah? Thanks. We do some entertaining here, but mostly it's unofficial fun like tonight. Here things are less fancy."

Things might be less fancy, Rey thinks as she looks around, but they are no less intentional. From the collection of charming family photos grouped on a table to the ostensibly haphazard throw pillows, the Flick house has been ruthlessly curated to seem effortlessly casual. But elegant still. All in all, it's very Type A tastemaker Cesi Flick.

"Are you sure my crashing your party is not going to ruin tonight?" Rey asks again. Because springing your traitor Empress friend with the Force on your regular crew might tend to chill the fun.

But Cesi disagrees. "This will be great." She ushers Rey through room after room until they reach the kitchen. Women's parties always seem to end up in the kitchen. As Cesi sails in, she announces, "Girls, we have a guest. She's an old friend of mine and a new friend of yours."

Tentatively, Rey steps forward. She can't help but notice how the happy buzz of chatter dies. Ten women turn and pause.

"Hi everyone. I'm Rey." Rey gives a weak little wave as Cesi beams encouragingly at her side.

The women all blink in silence a long moment. Someone starts to kneel and Rey furiously shakes her head to stop her. Following this cue, Cesi commands her nearest friend to pour Rey some wine. Then she starts making the introductions like Rey is no one special. As if she's just another Upper Level gal pal she invited spur of the moment to join the fun.

Cesi's posse is a mix of friends met during her post-war days and school chums from her upbringing as a New Republic Senator's daughter. These are the real housewives of Coruscant and they are all well-connected and accomplished women in their thirties and forties. Stylish, confident, socially competitive queen bee types like Cesi herself. Women who are winning at all the things women compete over, be it looks, husbands, homes, kids, clothes or jewelry. Rolling with this squad is a mark of distinction, Rey surmises as she looks around. Ironically, it's Empress Rey who doesn't belong.

Cesi immediately launches into humorous stories of the days she and Rey lived on a refugee compound during the war. Some of those exploits are definitely not in Rey's sketchy official biography the palace released a few days ago. " . . . so there we are at Canto Bight in our cheap, tacky dresses from . . . Rey, where did we buy that stuff? Do you remember? It was a shop in some gross Inner Rim mall."

"Core Girl," Rey supplies the store name.

"Core Girl?" everyone echoes in scandalized disbelief. Because bargain fast-fashion knock-offs are not Lady Flick's thing.

"Yes, Core Girl!" Cesi crows triumphant at her youthful fashion indiscretion. "But don't worry. The shoes were good. That helped some."

"Am I going to read about this on the holonet tomorrow?" Rey nervously wonders aloud. Because she is starting to realize how interested the public is in her. The palace strategy to say very little about the surprise Empress only seems to have whetted the appetite for more information.

"Oh, no," comes the quick chorus of assurances. "Certainly not," Rey is told firmly. "Cesi's house has a cone of silence," someone offers up.

Cesi too is unconcerned. "It's the first rule of girls' night: no one talks about girls' night. If they do, I will have Nestor make them disappear."

Everyone laughs at this except Rey. Because she knows that things like that can and do occur. Her eyes narrow as she takes the comment seriously. "Cesi, I thought my habeas corpus thing ended all that . . . "

"Wait-that was you?" a woman asks. "You were behind those arrest reforms?"

"Yes, Rey is progressive," Cesi confirms to the group and, apparently, it's a bold announcement for some in this crowd.

The general's wife next to Rey now looks unpleasantly surprised. Like Rey has just been outed as being a child molester or something similarly loathsome. "Oh. Is that why you were uh . . . " The woman stops, looking embarrassed.

"In jail?" Rey finishes for her with a sheepish smile. Naturally candid Rey decides to forge ahead with another ice breaking reveal. "No. I was in jail for dumping Kylo Ren. It turns out that's a capital offense."

An awkward silence follows. So much for conversation starters, Rey thinks. Because no one dares to crack a smile. Cesi and Rey exchange looks. Rey takes refuge in a big gulp of wine.

Cesi soldiers on with some more oversharing. "Well . . . there was that bit about the hand. Rey cut off his right hand," Cesi crows little ghoulishly. "Cleanly at the wrist with a lightsaber."

Now everyone definitely looks shocked.

Rey laughs a little uncomfortably at this reaction. Then she tries to make light of it. "Worst thing you can do to a man, am I right?"

Cesi snickers as she hurries to agree. "Especially after you dump him. What with the sad nights sleeping alone . . . Poor Kylo Ren with just his mechanical hand to keep him company." She catches Rey's eye and now they are both cackling with nasty girl glee.

They are the only ones laughing. It's not possible for the other women to appear more uncomfortable. Some even look a little afraid. Like they fear troopers will jump out of the woodwork to arrest them for sedition for just listening to this catty exchange.

"Oh, come on, girls," Cesi complains as she plants a hand on her hip. "We all laugh at our husbands, myself included. Rey gets to laugh about hers too. She probably needs a laugh more than the rest of us. Because none of you almost got beheaded two weeks ago." Her scolding done, Cesi slants a glance over at Rey. "You would have been beheaded for be-handing him," she giggles.

Rey, who has just taken another fortifying sip of wine, now spits it everywhere as she bursts into laughter. Most. Embarrassing. Thing. Ever. In that moment, Rey decides that first impressions are not her thing. Because whether she's getting introduced to the galaxy at her own execution, dropping her kid off at carpool in front of the press, or meeting Cesi's intimidating girl squad, Rey just can't do it right. It's just like she feared years ago . . . she sucks at the whole Empress thing. She'll never be smooth and confident like Cesi Flick. She's plain old Rey of Jakku but with nicer clothes and with regular showers. Rim trash through and through despite her posh accent and fancy heritage.

"I'm sorry," red faced Rey starts apologizing as she nervously tucks hair behind her ear. "It's been kind of a hard few weeks . . . " She is awkward and uncomfortable with saying more than that. And it's this miserable humility that must be endearing because for the first time the other guests seem to soften.

"You look like you need a hug," the previously shocked general's wife says quietly.

"She does need a hug," Cesi seconds this idea.

"Sure, but first I need another drink." Rey, as always, is a pragmatist.

And this sentiment wins the day. Finally, someone laughs. "Empress, you're going to fit right in," a tall redheaded glamazon standing in the back decrees. "Let's get you another drink. How long has it been since you had a drink?"

"Too long," Cesi decides for her. "Rey is overdue to make up for lost time." Once someone refills Rey's glass, Cesi proposes a toast. "To you, Rey. Welcome home from your old friend and from your new ones."

"Here! Here!" is the response and the women clink glasses and drink deeply.

Tonight is supposed to be a book club meeting, but apparently these women long dispensed with any actual book reading and now their monthly gathering is just a pretext to socialize. The conversation is a lot like frank conversation between longtime close girlfriends everywhere. Updates on kids and jobs, complaints about husbands, talk about kitchen remodeling plans, laughter about sex, and grousing about the everyday frustrations of life. Rey learns that these Upper Level types eat an incongruous mix of salad and dessert at parties, if they eat at all. But they definitely drink. The rapport is eased by a near continuous flow of wine.

That means soon Rey is listening to a tipsy woman tell the general's wife that her Senator husband is stressed over the lackluster First Order election showing on her home world. My husband hasn't come near me in weeks, the woman complains. He just wants to talk about work at night. I have to listen to speeches and strategy for pillow talk. The older, wiser general's wife knows a thing or two about this problem. "This is the First Order," she reminds Mrs. Senator. "Hate is the new sex. Take it from me-You just have to rip that datapad out of his hands and jump on him. Wells and I were newlyweds during the Mid Rim campaign. At one point, I actually told him it was time to make love, not war."

As the newcomer, Rey can't actually participate in these conversations. She just smiles and nods along. That is, until a petite woman with beautiful sloping dark eyes comes up to her. "I'm Betzy," she re-introduces herself.

"Oh, yes, I remember," Rey lies. Tonight is a lot of new names Rey couldn't possibly keep straight. Loner Rey has never been good with names. Social skills do not come easily to this former scavenger girl. But she tries. "So nice to meet you."

"Can I ask you a question?" Betzy asks. "You don't have to answer, of course, but I'd like to know."

"Okay," Rey answers with some trepidation. She's wondering what's coming next.

"Were you really in the Resistance?"

Rather than explain the whole long story, Rey just confirms, "Yes. For a few months."

"My father was in the local Resistance militia here on Coruscant during the war." Betzy says this quietly. "Not many people know that. We tell everyone that dad was killed from crossfire."

"I'm very sorry for your loss." Rey is sincere.

"My family are all loyal subjects of the Empire," the woman hastens to add, looking around as if fearing she is being overheard. "We did not share my father's political views. We are all deeply ashamed of his actions."

Rey nods at this perfunctory speech. She only half believes it.

"We never learned what happened to him. We just know that dad was arrested during a lecture at the university about a week before the First Order stormed the campus. My father was a retired professor, but he still taught a few classes now and then," Betzy explains. "We never heard from him again." The woman looks away as she confesses, "We don't actually know that he is dead. My father theoretically could be in prison somewhere. But that seems unlikely after the amnesty and all these years. Anyhow, I wanted to thank you for those habeas reforms you mentioned earlier. If those rights had existed during the war, then there would have been a record to show what happened to dad. I wish we knew what happened. But I'm glad that other families now will know." Betzy looks her in the eye. "Empress, no matter what awful thing a person has done, they always leave someone behind. And those people suffer too."

Suddenly, Betzy looks embarrassed, like she has overstepped a boundary. "I'm sorry," she starts apologizing. "I probably shouldn't have brought this up. It's just that no one talks openly about the war. We live in a brand-new city that is shiny and new but for those of us who grew up here it's unrecognizable. It's like a theme park, caricature version of Coruscant. Everywhere I look, there are people and places that are missing. Look, we are a conquered world—I get it. No one wants to invite trouble and most people just want to move on. But not all of us can, Rey. Not until we know the truth . . . "

"What was your father's name?" Rey asks, wondering if she can pull rank as Mrs. Kylo and get someone to do an investigation.

"Aleppo Berman. He was a history professor. A scholar, not a fighter." Betzy sighs. "I have no idea how dad got mixed up with the Resistance. We didn't know at the time, of course. But afterwards, others confirmed it. And, well . . . let's just say we weren't surprised."

"Aleppo Berman . . . your father was Professor Aleppo Berman . . . " Rey remembers the name. But, more importantly, she remembers the man. A cultured, thoughtful older man who was measured and polite in his speech even when he disagreed with you.

"Did you know of him?" Betzy looks hopeful.

"I knew him. Not from my time with the Resistance, but from the First Order." Rey takes a deep breath and then says as gently as possible. "I'm sorry, but your father is dead."

Betzy nods solemnly. She inhales a deep breath before speaking. "That's what we have long thought."

"Your father was a detainee on Coruscant and an important leader in the local militias. He was among those included in the last-ditch peace discussions," Rey remembers. "I liked your father. He was an honorable man and I respected him. Kylo actually had dinner with your father one night." Rey recalls that awful evening vividly. "They talked on and on about the Clone Wars."

"That sounds like my dad," the woman says with unshed tears in her eyes. "Tell me more. Please. Anything that you remember."

Rey is uncomfortable now. For she remembers exactly how Aleppo Berman had died. In a fit of frustration, Kylo had taken his head off with his sword in the hangar bay of the _Finalizer_. Rey decides to share the truth, but a less graphic version. "Your father and the other militia leaders were executed before the siege ended. I know because I was there. Betzy, I am sorry to be the one to tell you this. But your father died honorably as a man true to his convictions." That's the best way Rey can think to describe what happened.

"E-Executed?" The way Betzy says this makes Rey's heart hurt. For the wound of her father's loss is evidently still very fresh years later.

"It was instant. Your father did not suffer," Rey assures her. She wishes there were something more positive to say, but there isn't.

The woman just nods. Then, curiosity must get the better of her because she asks, "How did you end up on both sides of the war? I know of families who had members fighting on opposites sides, but how did you end up doing that? I mean . . . you're Kylo Ren's wife . . . and you fought against him?"

Rey looks into the grieving woman's face and decides to tell the truth. "I hate war. I tried to remain on the sidelines. But I got caught between the two sides of the war, like I got caught between the two sides of Kylo's family." For Dark or Light, the Skywalkers are a treacherous, self-serving bunch. "I ended up a traitor to both sides. But I was true to myself." These are cryptic comments, Rey realizes from the look on the woman's face. But Betzy does not pursue the point.

"Thank you for telling me. It means a lot to me to know what happened."

"I understand," Rey nods. And it's true, she does. For Rey of Jakku had waited and wondered for years about the fate of her own family. She had run off with Luke Skywalker for the chance to learn their fate, knowing full well that the Jedi was Kylo's prey. But her family had been that important to her. In the end, Rey had found the answers she sought—well, some of them. But it had set things in motion that would culminate first in an ugly confrontation on Mustafar and then years later in an even uglier scene on Empire Day. And now the Skywalker family torn apart by conflict is her own.

Cesi pops up at Rey's side. "How's it going?" she asks, watching Betzy walk away wiping at her eye. "That looked like a pretty serious conversation."

"It was," Rey admits. "I knew her father. Nestor and I knew him years ago."

"Really? Professor Berman died in the siege," Cesi nods. "It was sad. He got caught up in the crossfire like so many civilians."

"No," Rey corrects. "Professor Berman was a leader of the local militias. He was personally executed by Kylo Ren."

"Oh," Cesi's eyes widen. Then, they narrow. "Nestor never told me that. And Nestor tells me everything."

"I guess he didn't want you to know," Rey says softly as her eyes find Betzy pouring herself a stiff drink across the room. "Maybe he knew it would put you in an awkward situation."

Rey herself takes another long drink of wine. It helps to dull the pain of remembering those bittersweet final days on the _Finalizer_. Days when she and Kylo had been trying to hold together their relationship amid so much death. They both had desperately wanted to end the war, thinking that would solve their personal conflicts too. Kylo had been willing to kill his way to victory while Rey had been trying to make peace. In the end, their love had been yet another casualty, their happiness another cost of war. Like Betzy's father.

The war is long over now but she and Kylo still can't get along. What are their differences now? Rey isn't sure anymore. Kylo wants her help with the Force and her help with his Empire. He's basically letting her do what she wants with her time. So far at least, he is far less controlling than Rey had feared. And in his own Sith way, Kylo is taking a big interest in Titus. Spending hours with his son some nights. It's way more one-on-one attention than her son has received in years.

Now that going back to Cade is not an option, this marriage in name only ought to be ideal in some ways. Except it's not. Because two weeks into it, Rey feels weird to look up and catch Kylo watching her wistfully at breakfast. And it is awkward to see him stomp away at night to his own room. Behind that mask, Kylo has a very open, readable face that shows all of his emotions. And lately all she sees is loneliness. Stuck in her cell for months with them bickering every time they met, Rey hadn't realized how alone Kylo is. She wonders now what his life was like before she and Titus surfaced. How isolated had he been then?

Rey can't even get upset about Lady Cara and all Kylo's other young girls because there is something joyless and sad about those arrangements. Kylo Ren is no bon vivant like Snoke, treating his slave girls like princesses and romancing them with a twinkle in his eye. Instead, Emperor Ren conscripts his cronies' daughters and granddaughters and puts them under contract. It's all very cold, businesslike, and arms' length. Plus, it's the furthest thing from how Rey remembers falling in love with the Sith.

Loneliness is something Rey keenly understands. It resonates a deep empathy in her, and she knows that she could help him. But there is still so much hurt between them. Rey isn't ready to let go of her anger. And judging by all the time she spent in solitary, neither is Kylo.

"Hey now, what's with the long face?" Cesi correctly reads her mood. "Let's have no more talk of war and executions. That is the past. We can't change the past." Cesi reaches a comforting arm about Rey's waist. Drinking apparently makes Lady Flick more demonstrative but also more reflective. "Being happy is the best revenge, Rey. My father told me that years ago when I asked his advice about marrying Nestor. Nestor wasn't the type of guy I was supposed to marry. Not by a long shot. Maybe it was shallow of me, but I worried what other people would think. Imagine me marrying some military bodyguard in a fringe revolutionary group. But I did. Because being happy is the best revenge." The First Lady of the galaxy flashes a tipsy grin and gestures around to her immaculate and stylish kitchen. "It worked out in the end." She gives Rey's waist another squeeze. "I want you to be happy, Rey. You deserve to be happy. Look, I know that life with Kylo isn't what you wanted. But there still might be a way to be happy anyway."

"Yeah? How?" This is a sincere question. For Rey is beleaguered about her future.

"Keep doing what you are doing. Be yourself. Don't let him muzzle you."

Muzzle her? "I don't think that's his goal."

"Even if it isn't, others will try to limit you." Cesi gives Rey a knowing look. "I work a lot with the palace communications staff. Their chief called me today to ask confidentially if I thought you could handle a live interview. They are getting a lot of press inquiries. The bios and talking points aren't satisfying anyone. People want to see you and to meet you."

A live interview? Rey is alarmed. "Oh, I couldn't do that-"

"Sure, you could," Cesi disagrees. "And if you do, do it as yourself. Rey, your position gives you an amazing opportunity. You can do a lot of good for a lot of people. Bringing attention to issues and influencing people."

"I'm no Leia Organa," Rey is reflexively self-conscious. She's not polished and camera ready and well-spoken at all times. She's not knowledgeable about a wide range of issues. She still has to think about which fork to use at a formal dinner and she has never mastered a graceful strut in heels.

But Cesi seems to think that's a selling point. "You're Empress Rey from Jakku. Nothing that anyone expects but something that people will relate to. That's my point. Be yourself. The First Order was born in the Rim amid people like you. You don't know it yet, but people will love your scrappy nature and your direct approach. Plus, it's packaged with a fancy accent and a great pedigree. Everyone across the galaxy will find something to like about you." Cesi takes another long sip of wine and decides, "You're way too good for that angry dork Kylo Ren."

"He is a dork, isn't he?" Rey chuckles. And, actually, she rather likes Kylo's dorkiness. He's the angry Force nerd misfit who conquered the universe. The intensity that everyone else finds scary and weird, Rey has always found attractive and compelling. Because Kylo Ren is so committed to his ideas that he makes you want to believe them too. He still has the sexy Dark charisma that initially drew her to him. That's how Rey had ended up bent over a bench in a cell weeks ago. But she's learned her lesson. She's never doing that again.

By the time the evening is over, it's getting late. Cesi insists on bringing Rey home. You are in no shape to go home alone, Cesi argues. But Tagg is driving, Rey protests. There's no need. Cesi gives her a look because apparently even silky drunk Lady Flick considers herself to be the responsible one in charge. In the face of all her Mom-like nagging, Rey quickly caves. Partly because a determined Cesi Flick is a force of nature but partly too because it feels good to have someone look after her.

Rey has weathered the trauma of the recent months wholly on her own, as usual. Trying to keep up a strong front before Titus and to keep Kylo from seeing any cracks in her facade. This is the way she has always handled things. For this orphan scavenger learned long ago to rely only on herself. She has a mental toughness honed from life in the desert and an emotional resilience learned from an isolated childhood. It is her greatest strength and her most crippling weakness. Because Kylo is right. For her, it's Jakku. It will always be Jakku. Rey is not blind to how her past is responsible for so many aspects of her present life. Including why tonight she can stand in a room full of welcoming women and still feel alone. Thankfully, she has Cesi who seems determined to help, even if it's just a temporary fix like making sure that Rey has a night out and her wine glass remains full.

Cesi's glass remained full all night too, so when Tagg parks the speeder at the palace landing platform it's not clear whether Cesi is helping Rey or it's the other way around. The two women are hanging on one another as they stumble into the palace.

"I feel like we got caught out after curfew," Cesi says conspiratorially in a half-whisper. "Like we're about to get busted."

"You can't bust the Empress," Rey retorts as she staggers a bit.

Cesi crows, "That's the spirit!" But the effort makes her stumble and the pair almost go down in a heap together. Cesi blames it on her heels. After that, Rey concentrates hard. With much joint effort and the help of a passing droid, they find their way to Rey's suite of rooms. Inside, Cesi promptly plops down on the bed and starts taking off her shoes. Rey peels off her coat and throws it down.

"Hey, that's couture!" Cesi objects on behalf of fashion-conscious women everywhere. "You can't throw it on the floor. That," Lady Flick passes judgement, "is a fashion crime."

"You can't bust the Empress," unrepentant Rey grins. "Even when she throws shit on the floor." Rey pauses a moment as the room seems to spin. When it stops, she adds, "Especially when she throws shit on the floor. Because an Empress does what she wants." Rey sticks her nose in the air to emphasize this point. But it makes her dizzy again. And so she too plops on the bed. "I think I might be sick," she slurs.

"Aim anywhere but me and the coat," Cesi instructs. Finally finished with her shoes, Cesi stalks over to swipe the coat off the floor. "Do you know how much this cost? This is very Jakku of you," Cesi accuses as she shakes the coat at Rey. "Standards, Rey. An Empress has standards. At least hang it up."

"No one wears a coat in the desert," Rey muses as if it is a profound thought. "And if this were Jakku, there would be sand on the floor."

"I hate sand. It gets everywhere."

"I miss it," Rey says softly as she contemplates the ceiling. "I never thought I would, but I do. I really miss it sometimes . . . "

"Are you going to cry? Don't cry. You didn't used to be a crying drunk," Cesi observes. "You used to be a fun drunk. Well, I'll hang this up and get out of your hair. Rey, you need to sleep it off." Lady Flick says this advice as if she herself were not barely remaining upright as she staggers towards the closet.

And wait—that's not the closet. "No—not that door, Cesi—" Definitely not THAT door. The fog of Rey's brain belatedly kicks into gear. "Over there," Rey points across the room before she collapses back on the bed. The room is spinning again.

"Oh. Whoops." Cesi is now standing in the open doorway to Kylo's suite. She's peering in, propping herself against the wall with one hand with the coat dangling from the other.

"The closet is over there," Rey points again across the room.

"Yeah?" Cesi drops the coat and now has both hands on the door jam, lest she fall down. "Okay, but this is much more interesting. Muuuuch more interesting, Rey."

"Not really," Rey gripes as she dutifully rolls out of bed and trods over to take a look. And oh. Oh, dear. Emperor Ren is next door and he's entertaining a guest. Naked to the waist and barefoot in bed entertaining a guest.

"We should close this door," Rey says softly as she stands on tiptoe to look over her taller friend's shoulder.

"Yes. We should really close this door," Cesi agrees.

Neither woman makes any effort to close the door.

"Damn, Rey, you never told me that Kylo was still super cut." Cesi hiccups loudly after this remark.

"I didn't notice," Rey breathes out. But now she too cannot look away. Because damn, Kylo is still super cut. Her jaw gets a little slack as she stares at his chest. "I didn't notice. I was more focused on his—"

"Are you and Cesi here to join us?" the man in question speaks up sharply. Kylo sits up on his knees now and gives Rey a good look at the naked girl beneath him on the bed.

But Cesi's attention is not on the girl. "Is that an eight pack?" Lady Flick wonders aloud. "Damn, girl. My Nestor is still ripped but it's all biceps, pecs and shoulders. Abs, not so much. Wow, that is an eight pack." She turns to Rey to ask, "Do you think if we asked he would stand and turn around?"

"Don't bother," Rey discourages her. "The Imperial ass was never anything to see. It's as bony as mine. Really, it's all about his—"

"Well?" Kylo interrupts to drawl, "Are you girls here to join in or are you just here to gawk? Because you are welcome to join us."

"Oh." Cesi turns pink, as if suddenly the reality of the situation is penetrating her alcohol steeped mind. "Uhh . . . I'm a married woman . . . your . . . Excellency . . . " she babbles.

"Yep, and married to your best friend," Rey pipes up. She laughs out loud now at Cesi's expression. "He's just fucking with you. Don't worry. Kylo is not about to command you to go to bed with him. Now, close the door. I don't want to see this."

This attitude rubs Cesi the wrong way. She turns to Rey. "So you don't care that he cheats on you? It's okay that you have to sleep next to this?"

"Been there, done that," Rey smirks. "It's better her than me," she slurs.

"Wait-did he cheat on you back in the day too?" Cesi looks outraged.

"I don't know. Probably," Rey sighs.

This provokes a response from Kylo. "I did not! You were the one who cheated!" he accuses with a finger jabbed in her direction.

"I did not! I never slept with Army!" Rey hollers back.

"You would have," Kylo growls his rebuttal. "If you thought you could get away with it and he could get it up, you would have fucked Hux night and day—"

"Hey, aren't you Celeste's mom?" Kylo's guest speaks up and sits up. Brazenly displaying a lot of plump, firm busom before she crosses her arms over her chest. "You're Lady Flick, right?"

"Uhh . . . " Cesi looks unsure how to answer this question.

"Celeste and I are sorority sisters at university," the girl continues brightly. And now Rey starts laughing out loud at this unfortunate reveal.

"Uhh . . ."

"We're Kappas together. She's like my best friend."

Rey is laughing even harder now. Doubled over with stumbling drunken laughter. "I love it!" Rey brays. Rey is leaning heavily on Cesi now to stay upright. "How old are you, Kappa girl?" she manages between guffaws. "Kylo's Kappa girl. Cesi, try saying that five times straight."

Kylo glowers. He looks almost red-faced in the dim light. "You don't get to complain about this, Rey. I told you I can see who I want."

"Who's complaining? We're laughing, Kylo. Laughing," Rey repeats as she grabs the doorjamb for support.

"At least this one doesn't look like you," Lady Flick points out. Then, she reconsiders. "Well, she sort of looks like old you. Like blonde you."

"Oh, I never had tits like that," Rey disagrees. "Even when I was nursing. But we should close this door," she says, reading correctly Kylo's expression.

"It's way too late to close this door." Cesi judges. Then she snickers. "We've spoiled the moment." She laughs, Rey laughs, and they both stagger.

"Rey, are you sure you're cool with this shit?" Cesi slurs out her question again. Even with her drunken speech, her skepticism is clear. "Because if this were Nestor, I'd be cutting that bitch."

"If this were Nestor, she'd be green," Rey points out.

And now it's Kylo's turn to smirk. "Cesi, are you drunk?" Kylo accuses. "You both look very drunk."

"Of course, I'm not drunk." Lady Flick makes an effort to collect herself and stand straight, which is hard with Rey hanging on her. "Not as drunk as Rey," she says defensively. "Rey is really drunk."

"I'm not drunk. Are those black satin sheets?" Rey snorts as she peers into the room. "Oh, how ridiculous. Kylo, that is utterly ridiculous."

Cesi snorts. "He's a player, Rey. Who knew?"

"You're not a player if you have to put your girls under contract," Rey observes. "Nothing is less romantic than a non-disclosure agreement. I bet Snoke didn't need non-disclosure agreements."

Lady Flick nods her agreement. "He wouldn't need black satin sheets either."

"Yep," Rey concurs. "That old Muun had game, Cesi. Not like Kylo. Kylo has no game." And, actually, that's part of his dorky allure.

"Good night, ladies." Kylo now is in a hurry to end this conversation.

"So, where have you been hiding her all this time, Kylo?" Rey wants to know. "Because I haven't seen this one before. Welcome to the palace, Kappa girl. What's your name?"

"She doesn't have a name. She's just here for the weekend," Kylo grinds out. "Now, good night, ladies. Shut the door."

"Do you like pancakes?" Rey feels compelled to play hostess now. "Kappa girl, if you like pancakes then come to breakfast tomorrow morning. On Saturdays, I cook pancakes." Rey turns to Cesi now. "You too. We'll slumber party in my room tonight and I'll cook you pancakes tomorrow."

Even drunk, Cesi has the presence of mind to stick to her ruthless diet. "I don't eat sugar. You know that."

"Like you don't smoke?" Rey raises an eyebrow.

"Lady Flick smokes?" Kylo's girl is shocked. "Celeste never told me that."

"Can this conversation be over?" Kylo complains.

Cesi turns to Rey with a smile. "I think we ruined it."

"Yeah, we ruined it." Rey smiles back.

"Oh, well." Cesi shrugs and tosses her blonde mane over one shoulder in a triumphant Alpha mean girl move. "Sorry, not sorry, Kylo Ren." She and Rey collapse into more giggles. And that's when Emperor Ren raises a hand to not-so-gently Force push the pair away before he shuts the door.


	28. Chapter 28

"Please don't murder Cesi." Nestor intercepts him the moment Kylo sets foot outside his door the next morning. His old friend falls into step beside him.

"Why not?" Kylo demands. He is alone now, having sent his girl home. After that scene last night, there was really no point. It's easy to ignore the haters on the holonet. It's another thing to ignore the gleeful haters next door. It puts a man off his game.

Nestor takes a deep breath. "Because if you murder Cesi, then you'll have to murder me too."

"Yeah?" Kylo raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Nestor is his usual affable self as he makes this half-hearted threat. "If you kill her, I'll have to avenge her. For better or for worse, you know."

Kylo makes a face as he remembers the scene. "Last night was definitely for worse."

"She won't talk," Nestor is quick to reassure. He starts rushing out his words, which is very atypical of the normally chill Chancellor Flick. "I promise she won't talk. She never talks. Cesi only has hazy recollections of what happened and she is very discreet."

"She wasn't last night."

"She was drunk. My wife is normally extremely discreet. You know that."

Nestor is very nervous this morning, Kylo senses. And that makes Kylo want to make his friend squirm a bit. Kylo has no intention of actually punishing Cesi Flick. But Nestor doesn't need to know that. Not yet, at least. Kylo decides to take a page out of Snoke's playbook and fuck with him a bit. Because, yeah, he's still pissed about last night.

"Is that your best argument? That I have to kill you both?" Kylo halts his stomping and turns to face his friend. "You don't even sound that upset about it."

"Oh, trust me, I was." Nestor looks ready to fall on his sword over this. Truly, the man is white-faced with fear, Kylo sees with some satisfaction. "Look, people you love are going to do dumb shit and let you down now and then. You deal with it. Cesi screwed up. She knows it. She sends her deepest apologies. We move on." And now, anxious Nestor has just yapped out his whole strategy.

Kylo glares at him. Last night, Cesi Flick had been like pretty much every girl Kylo had known growing up. Uppity, self-assured princess types who used their family's wealth and connections and their own beauty to intimidate. These girls learned to throw shade at a tender age and by fourteen they had honed it to an artform. Spending their days manufacturing petty, manipulative social melodramas. Young Ben Solo had watched them from afar. A loner like himself would never have a chance with a girl like that. He didn't even try. Because girls like that don't just shoot you down, they step on you and grind you beneath their high heel. Vicious bitches.

But he's not fourteen anymore and watching girls from afar. And he's mature enough to realize that there is a lot more to Cessily Flick than last night's drunken mean girl stunt. She's an excellent First Lady and an important player on the social scene outside the Senate. Plus, she's Senator Ono's daughter and she's Coruscant born and bred. And that means a lot to a certain sort of influential person on this world. Lady Flick is competent and useful separate and apart from her connection to Nestor and Rey, and for that she is absolved. Besides, there's no way Kylo can make an issue about this without risking the whole embarrassing story coming out. That means some groveling public apology in his throne room is out of the question.

Kylo resumes walking. "You are very forgiving where your wife is concerned," he observes, still keeping his cards close to his chest.

"She has earned my goodwill. Cesi should have earned some goodwill from you too by now," Nestor points out. "She's been hosting your parties and playing therapist to your wife on and off for years now."

"True," Kylo allows. "But my goodwill has limits. Last night was beyond those limits."

"She will forget it ever happened, and you can forget it ever happened, and then it will be like it never happened," Nestor suggests hopefully.

Kylo again stops to face his friend. "Did you put her up to it?" he asks point blank.

"What?" Nestor is taken aback.

"Well, did you? Because I've been listening on and off for years while you nag at me about my dating habits." Kylo crosses his arms and stares down his friend. "Was this your idea?"

Nestor scowls at this. He's offended. "I don't enlist my wife to do my dirty work. I always tell you to your face what I think, even when you don't want to hear it. Whether that's about your Empire or your personal life." Kylo has hit a nerve, he sees. Because this is pretty worked up for Nestor Flick. "I'm not just your Chancellor, I'm your friend, Kylo. I see through your bullshit and I try to keep you from making mistakes. So I'm telling you now-procuring barely legal girls to use and discard is a mistake, Kylo. Especially when they are the daughters of your officers and Senators. Especially when the wife you thought was dead is sleeping next door and you're still in love with her." Nestor frowns openly at him. "Come on, Kylo. You're way too strategic to be making these dumbass moves. Cheating on Rey is never going to win her back."

"I don't want her back. I'm moving on." Kylo looks away now as he grumbles defensively, "And she cheated on me first. With Hux and then for years playing house with that short Kuat guy."

"Yeah? So you're even. Because you've been fucking Coruscant U coeds for years now. By all means, move on. But find someone appropriate and don't do it with your wife next door." Nestor shakes his head at him. "That's the part that really got to Cesi. It's bad enough that you do it, but next door? Kylo, that's just asking for trouble."

He has heard enough lecturing. Kylo tries a different tactic. "Okay, so if you didn't send Cesi last night, did Cesi send you here this morning?"

"No," Nestor retorts and it's a flat out lie. Cesi Flick rules Nestor Flick and always has. She says jump and he asks how high. But Nestor will never admit to that. "I was planning on coming anyhow," Nestor sheepishly amends his prior statement. And now he seems to recall that he's here to beg for mercy. Nestor quickly shifts from lecture mode to contrition. "I came to formally apologize for the rude and inappropriate actions of my wife."

"I have an empty cell downstairs," Kylo muses aloud just to fuck with his friend some more. "I might be willing to grant her conjugal visits for good behavior."

"Fuck you! You wouldn't dare," Nestor growls.

"It would be preferable to killing her. And then you would still be alive too," the Sith thinks aloud. "Holding her captive would also give me great leverage over you. You'd have to stay Chancellor then."

"You wouldn't dare."

No, he wouldn't. Nestor and Cesi Flick are the reason Kylo found his wife and son in the first place. He owes them a debt of gratitude. And besides, Kylo doesn't need leverage over Nestor Flick. His friend is the most loyal guy in the Empire, even if he does tend to preach a bit.

Kylo's poker face is failing him now as he watches Nestor about to boil over. He grins. "Ah . . . you're going soft, Nestor. Did you even yell at her?" Not likely, Kylo thinks. Knowing Cesi Flick, she did all the yelling.

Nestor nods warily. He's not sure what to make of Kylo's change in demeanor. "Sure, I yelled at her. I yelled a lot."

In this too, Nestor is completely unconvincing. The former Second Knight was a fiend on the battlefield and now he's the genial mastermind Chancellor of the Senate. But he is still putty in his wife's hands. No matter how much Nestor achieves, he still thinks he's married up. Nestor was the type who at fourteen had looked at those prissy princess girls and wanted to land one. Unlike Kylo who wanted to run from them. Thank the Force he ended up married to Rey, Kylo thinks. He has always loved how genuine Rey is. She doesn't play games and she doesn't pull her punches. What she says is what she means. Even if it sometimes cuts deeply. Well, lately, a lot of it cuts deeply.

"You're going soft," Kylo gives his friend a knowing smirk.

"Bullshit. I'm the one who wants to deal with Stegger, remember? You need to be careful there, Kylo. Don't wait too long to make your move."

Is Nestor changing the topic? Kylo lets him change the topic. He's done talking about getting caught with his pants down. "Stegger is no Leia Organa," he decides. "We'll give him enough rope to hang himself and then I'll hang him. He can be next year's big reveal on Empire Day. I can't wait to take that guy's head off."

"You should do it now," Nestor repeats his earlier advice. "Tolerating dissent is one thing. Watching a real-time revolt take shape is different. If Stegger gets a following together, you're going to have to kill more than just him." Chancellor Flick gives Kylo a serious look. "We don't need a deep state forming in our Senate like what happened with the Rebellion."

Kylo dismisses this point. "Stegger is more talk than anything. He lacks the finances to get any real weaponry. And Milo has enough dirt and leverage on your Senators to keep them loyal."

"Kylo, you can do a lot of damage without much firepower. You don't need a superweapon or a fleet to bring down an Empire. The Rebellion just needed Luke Skywalker."

"The galaxy is out of Jedi, Nestor, and the only trained Force-users live in my palace. Let Stegger play small time terrorist. It will make it easier to make the case to kill him. I don't plan on martyring that fucker. I want him caught red-handed so the public is panting for his execution."

They are almost to the kitchen now. Kylo turns to his friend. "Do you want breakfast? It's Saturday so Rey is cooking pancakes. They are shockingly good, actually."

"Pancakes?" Nestor considers a moment. "Nah. Cesi doesn't let me eat sugar."

Kylo smirks. "Yeah, that's probably wise. You need to work on your abs."

"What?" his friend blinks.

Kylo smirks again. "Apparently, your wife thinks I have much better abs."

"Abs? Fuck that." Nestor is indignant. He pats his midsection. "I'm fifty-one years old. At my age, you can have a gut."

"You don't have a gut," Kylo observes. "But apparently you don't have my killer abs either."

Nestor's response is gruff. And a little smug. "My wife doesn't love me for my abs."

"Yeah?" Kylo shoots back. "Why does she love you?"

"Is that a serious question?"

"Yes," Kylo admits. Because how exactly do you find love and keep love? That might just be a bigger riddle than the balance of the Force. And no Chosen One has ever managed to keep love once he found it. It's the curse of the Skywalkers to be alone.

Nestor thinks a moment. "Cesi likes being First Lady."

"She married you long before that."

"Well, there's the kids."

"She married you before the kids."

"The power?" Nestor suggests.

"You were some second-rate general's bodyguard when you met her. You weren't even a Knight yet," Kylo scoffs. "What the Hell did fancy Cessily Ono ever see in a loser like you?"

Nestor shrugs. "I guess that leaves my good looks and scintillating personality."

Kylo snorts. "It's definitely not your abs."

"Fuck you."

Kylo laughs. Then he claps Nestor on the back. "Tell Cesi not to worry. She will remain in my good graces provided she keeps her mouth shut and she keeps helping Rey. My Empress needs an advisor and a friend as she finds her way." Cesi Flick is Rey's best friend and his best friend's wife and, well, things are complicated enough already in his household. Kylo doesn't need another reason for conflict.

"Understood, Boss." Poor Nestor looks incredibly relieved.

"You sure you don't want pancakes?" Kylo asks again. "They're good."

"They do smell good." Nestor waffles briefly and then decides, "Nah, I should skip it. Better go home and tell Cesi she can keep her head."

"Maybe she'll be so grateful she'll let you eat sugar."

"Fuck you, Kylo." His friend starts to walk away, but pauses and turns. "You know, I have no idea why Cesi was fool enough to marry me. But I can tell you why we're still married. It's because I have her back and she has my back. We're a team. And because I try to make her happy. Even if it's stupid shit like not eating sugar."

Kylo raises one eyebrow and then drawls out his sarcasm. "So the moral of this story is be Team No Pancakes?"

"Hey, it's been happily ever after for over twenty years now," Nestor shoots back. "Take notes, Kylo, you might learn something. And hey, just so you know, Intel put a tail on our friend Senator Stegger. You'll get your proof soon enough."

"Good," Kylo approves before he plods into the breakfast room.

Titus looks up as he enters. "Mom's sick."

"The Hell she is," Kylo smirks. "Your mother is hungover. Big time."

"Oh." His son doesn't know what to make of that unexpected news.

"Good morning, Master," Vanee nods politely. Milo does the same. And now Rey marches in from the kitchen holding a heaping hot plate of pancakes that she unceremoniously plunks down hard in front of Kylo. Then she slumps into the nearest empty chair.

"I think I drank enough wine last night to get Snoke drunk," Rey moans as she holds her head in her hands. "Titus, your Aunt Cesi did this to me. I hate her."

Kylo is enjoying this. After last night's humiliation, it's gratifying to see Rey in such obvious discomfort. But Vanee looks sympathetic. "Have some caf, Rey. Strong black caf will help."

"Ugh. No, thank you." Rey pushes the offered cup aside. "Vanee, that will make me hurl. Again."

Kylo bursts out laughing at the shocked look on Milo's face. This is not a topic of conversation he approves of at breakfast.

Rey cracks her fingers some to peek through at Kylo. "Are we expecting anyone else? Please say I am done cooking. The smell of food is killing me."

Kylo knows full well that Rey is obliquely asking about last night's girl. She isn't going to come right out and say it with Titus in the room. So he leans over to confide, "It's just us, Rey. Nestor came by to see me but he won't be joining us for breakfast."

"Nestor was here?" Rey squeaks with alarm. Then she groans and hides her eyes again. "Oh, Gods, I need a do-over on last night."

"What happened last night?" Titus wants to know.

Kylo ignores him. Now that Nestor is gone, he's gleefully fucking with Rey now. "I have decided to spare Lady Flick for her role in last night's transgression. She can keep her head. You, wife, are still in jeopardy." Kylo says this last bit with drawn out Snoke-like relish.

Rey is unimpressed. Her response is muffled because she's face down on the table. "Please. Take my head. That might make it hurt less. Put me out of my misery, Kylo."

"It's tempting," he chuckles as he reaches for his caf.

"Hey!" Titus objects, looking from one parent to another. "Someone tell me what happened last night."

"Do it." Rey raises her head to look at Kylo with unfocused eyes. She might still be a little drunk, he assesses. "Grab your sword and let's do Empire Day all over. Quick and clean. I won't feel a thing."

"Hey!" Titus is on his feet now. Unsure if he should be alarmed or not.

"You'd probably haunt me as a Force ghost, wouldn't you?" Kylo accuses with an ugly little chuckle. "Everywhere I looked, there would be blue, sparkly, drunk you. Pointing and cackling at me."

That must jog Rey's memory because she looks up to squint at him. "Your Sith man cave is ridiculous, Kylo. Black walls, black bed, black sheets, black -whoa!" Rey loses her balance and slides from her chair. "Oof!" She lands unceremoniously on the floor.

Kylo bursts out laughing at the pathetic picture she presents. Milo and Vanee exchange looks but say nothing.

"Now who's pointing and cackling?" Rey glares up at Kylo.

He is unsympathetic. "The first time you drank a beer on Jakku you fell out of your chair. Some things never change, I guess. You never could hold your liquor, Rey."

"Mom, are you okay?"

"No," Rey answers as she slowly climbs back into her chair.

"The morning after is never pretty." Kylo speaks from experience. He starts eating his pancakes as he considers Rey miserable at his side. "You know, I thought book club was supposed to involve education. Not intoxication."

"I hate books," Rey decides. "And I hate Cesi Flick."

Kylo looks across at Titus still standing looking confused. "Sit down, kid. While I should murder your mother and your Aunt Cesi, I will not. They have enough self-inflicted wounds as it is."

"Murder me . . . please murder me . . . " Rey mumbles.

"Rey, you look like you need to sleep it off," Vanee suggests what everyone is thinking.

"Yeah. Good idea. I'm going back to bed," Rey announces before she drags herself to her feet and stumbles blindly from the room.

"Use the Force, Rey," Kylo calls after her with mocking glee. "Maybe you could Force heal your hangover and put your new Jedi skills to use."

Rey doesn't respond. She just keeps up her slow trudge away.

"Wait—can you do that?" Titus wants to know. Like his father, he's obsessed with all things Force. "Master, can you heal a hangover with the Force? And wait—was that allowed. Did Jedi drink?"

"Luke Skywalker would have been a lot more fun if he had," Kylo decides to the amusesment of Vanee. Then Kylo seriously considers the question. "Actually, I have no idea if the Jedi drank or not. Probably not. They didn't do anything fun. Milo, do you know?" Kylo looks over to the longtime Sith servant who long ago helped Snoke plot the Clone Wars.

The old man nods. "I recall Lady Plagueis drinking socially. Never to excess though."

Kylo grunts. "Not like Lady Ren."

Titus looks concerned. "Is she okay? I've never known Mom to drink before. Ever."

"There's a lot you don't know about your mother," Kylo answers cryptically. "She'll be alright. Your mother and your Aunt Cesi partied too hard last night. That's all." He looks appraisingly over at his kid between forkfuls of pancakes. "I guess it's just you and me today, kid. Let's go fly."

Titus' eyes light up. "Fly? For real?"

"Sure. I know you've flown simulations. But you need to learn the real thing. Kid, my own father was a criminal. But he had two things going for him: he could fly and he could shoot. He taught me how to do both. And now it's your turn to learn."

An hour later, Kylo takes Titus to the large First Order garrison on Coruscant. There is a hastily assembled group of officers and troopers stiff at attention when he and his wide-eyed son march down the shuttle ramp. Some midlevel career officer who is the ranking man on duty on Saturday morning stands shaking in his boots to receive them. Impatient as usual, Kylo strides on by as the man starts to speak.

 _Your Excellency, you honor us with your presence._

 _You may dispense with the pleasantries, Commander._ _We're here to fly, not to review the troops._ _Scramble your five best pilots._ _And get me a ship._

Half an hour later, he and the kid are in a standard TIE. He's up front flying with Titus in back as gunner. They are firing harmless tracer shots, being chased five on one with Kylo spinning and rolling his way through Coruscant's empty outer atmosphere in restricted military airspace. Kylo keeps an open radio channel to the whole wing of TIEs in the air. So as he narrates the battle and gives instructions to his son, it's something of a master class in aerial combat to his career pilots.

 _Never fire where the enemy is._ _Always fire ahead to where he's going._ _Remember that he's trying to dodge a hit._ _Yes, that's better._ _Learn to anticipate your enemy's moves._

 _I got him!_

 _When you can, attack from above or below._ _It gives you more surface area to hit._ _Plus, it's harder to see you coming._ _Watch this guy—we've got him when I pull from the spin._ _Wait for it . . . wait for it . . . now!_

 _I got him!_

 _When you can, spin counterclockwise and break left._ _Most pilots are right oriented and it confuses the Hell out of them._ _Slows their reflexes too._

 _Okay, but he's got a lock on us!_

 _Nah . . . watch this._

 _Damn—_

 _Shut up and fire!_

 _Got him!_

 _Great, kid._ _Don't get cocky._ _That was my old man's favorite move._ _A big banking flip to land behind your opponent with them dead center in your sights._ _Works almost every time._ _My father was a reckless asshole, but he knew how to fly._

 _Where did he learn all this?_

 _Mostly evading Imperial customs agents._ _My father was a criminal who smuggled spice for the Hutts._ _But later he was evading my grandfather._ _Vader was after him because he was Luke Skywalker's best friend._ _Vader wanted him as bait to catch the Jedi._

 _So your uncle didn't teach you how to fly?_ _It was your father?_

 _Yeah. Skywalker was overrated as a pilot, in my opinion._ _He blew up the Death Star with an assist from my father and the help of the Force._ _Vader almost got him that day._ _Alright, kid._ _We're going to take these two down together._ _Vader-style._

 _W-What?_

 _Vader was a Jedi in the Clone Wars._ _They flew traditional military tactics as part of a formation._ _Even years later, Vader seldom showed up on his own._ _He flew with one or two wingmen always._

 _Okay, but there's just one of us._

 _The wingmen were there for cover fire but also to help Vader herd other ships where he wanted them._ _He liked to chase a ship into another ship's path._ _And that's what we're going to do._

 _But that's a public transport—_

 _It'll do._

 _Fuck, we're gonna crash!_

 _Shut up and fire._

 _Got him!_ _I got him!_

 _You got the transport too, I see._ _A bunch of old ladies onboard just had a heart attack from your tracer fire._ _Alright, one left._ _This one we are going to blind._

 _How do we do that?_

 _It only works when you're in low planetary orbit like we are now._ _If we angle the horizon correctly, we'll get him flying into the sunrise glare._ _It won't mess with his tech visuals, but it will momentarily mess with his actual vision._ _And that matters in combat._ _The setup is tricky, but it's almost always a sure kill._ _Here it comes._ _Get ready to blow this thing so we can go home._

 _Okay._

 _Almost there . . ._

 _Where is he?_ _I can't see him!_

 _Almost there . . . fire!_

 _Got him!_

 _Good shot._ _Now, it's your turn to fly._ _Simulations are fine, kid, but there's no substitute for the real thing._ _G_ _ood against remotes is one thing._ _Good against the living?_ _That's something else._ _So let's get you some practice._

He lets the kid pilot two rounds at the TIE controls while Kylo does the shooting. Titus has a lot to learn, but there's no denying he's got raw talent. With Vader as his great-grandfather, Han Solo as his grandfather, and the finely attuned reflexes that come with the Force, his son will be a very capable pilot someday. There's a lot I can teach you that is not the Force, Kylo tells his boy. You won't have to win an Empire, but you will need to hold onto one. And that's not as easy as it looks. Titus nods solemnly at this. Almost like he understands. And that makes Kylo proud. His boy is a Skywalker through and through. Nothing Cade Biggs could ever do would change that.

Kylo lets Titus pilot the shuttle home. The boy is relaxed and happy and feeling very adult from all this responsibility. Today has gone a long way towards healing the breach of Empire Day, Kylo judges. He sits back in the co-pilot's seat and absently scans his capital world.

"Coruscant has long been the aim of all Sith," he tells the kid some Dark Side lore. "Conquering the galaxy was the grand plan of the Sith for generations before me. Sidious did it first with my Master's help. Then Plagueis did it again with me. It was the ultimate achievement, or so we thought." He looks over at his young son. "I did my part, Titus, but there is still plenty left for you to do."

The kid nods but keeps his eyes on the controls. "I know. I'm supposed to balance the Force."

"I will also need you to help run the Empire. Someday, we will rule the galaxy as father and son." Like Darth Plagueis had always intended with his son Darth Vader, and like Darth Vader had tried with his son Luke Skywalker. Finally, Kylo thinks with satisfaction, his Master's dream will be achieved.

"What about Mom?"

"Your mother will be key to balancing the Force. But she's never been very interested in my Empire. She never wanted to be an Empress," Kylo says with a sigh. "But maybe that will change now that this is your future too." Rey wants the best for their son, he knows. And he's planning to use that to his advantage.

"Maybe." Titus looks up from the controls for the first time to ask, "Master, did you always want to be a Sith?"

It's a serious question and Kylo gives his answer some thought. "I always knew I wasn't cut out to be a Jedi. I didn't want that life and I struggled with its teachings. But no, I wasn't aiming to be Sith. The conventional wisdom when I was your age was that the Sith were gone. My Master's existence was known to my uncle and to my mother, but not to anyone else at that time. Plagueis was biding his time in exile. Waiting for me."

Kylo is wistful now, remembering his beloved Master. A man more father to him than Han Solo had ever been. Years later, his loss still stings. "Plagueis was no ordinary Sith. He transcended much of their traditions. Sidious was probably the last true Sith in the fashion of Bane. So, from a certain point of view, my uncle was right and the Sith were gone."

"If you didn't want to be Sith, then what did you want to be?" Titus presses.

"I wanted to be a historian," Kylo admits. "From about age ten until fifteen I was obsessed with the Clone Wars. I didn't realize at the time that it was the secret history of my family. None of that was known to me at the time. My parents and my uncle had lied to me. Over and over again." Kylo makes a face. "They thought that they were protecting me. In much the same way that your mother thought she was protecting you. They were well-intentioned, but foolish all the same."

"How did you find out?"

"Rumors surfaced about my mother's relationship to Darth Vader. Probably planted by Snoke. When I confronted my uncle, he admitted the truth. My mother didn't even bother to address it with me. She just sent a holomessage confirming it was true."

"Ouch."

"Exactly." Kylo remembers well to this day the sense of betrayal he had felt upon discovering that his Clone Wars hero Anakin Skywalker was really his grandfather the Sith Apprentice Darth Vader. All those years, he had been lied to in order to align his perceptions with his mother's and uncle's political agenda.

"I was already unhappy, Titus. That news just made it worse. My uncle and my mother had pushed me into Jedi training. They had grand plans for me in the New Republic. Back then, I was supposed to lead the New Jedi Order with my uncle. I was supposed to balance the Force. But I just wanted to be an academic."

"It's a lot of pressure," the boy says softly and Kylo knows that he's talking about himself.

So Kylo tries to encourage him. "You're not doing this alone, kid. Your mother and I are here to help."

Titus only looks mildly reassured. But he persists in his questions. "So what happened? How did you flip Sith?"

"I was an unhappy kid. Always in trouble." Kylo thinks back on uncomfortable memories. "I never had any friends. My uncle was fine with that. He didn't want me to form any attachments anyway. My mother never noticed. She was very busy."

"And your father?"

"He was never around much." Kylo shrugs. "It was probably better that way. All my parents did was fight."

"Like you and Mom?"

Kylo doesn't answer. Instead he explains, "My parents didn't fight about politics or me. It was mundane stuff. Mostly because my father had other women."

"So . . . like you?"

Again, Kylo sidesteps the loaded question. He just resumes his tale. "I was miserable. I kept running away. One time I ran away to Naboo. I went to see my grandmother's grave. To learn about the woman who rumor had it married Darth Vader. Milo found me lurking there. Snoke was nearby at his temple on Naboo and he sensed me in the Force. He sent Milo to convince me to meet him." Kylo shakes his head now at the improbable series of events and coincidences that had ultimately changed the course of history for his life and for the galaxy. "I was fifteen then, Titus. I did not yet realize my importance. I had no idea what the future would bring."

And now his son recalls aloud the day his own life forever changed. "When your troopers grabbed me at school back on Kuat, I thought for certain it was for beating up that Senator's kid again. Or maybe that Dad had gotten in trouble for some business deal with the First Order. I had no idea that is was all about Mom. She seemed so ordinary, you know? Just another mom. I had no idea how fast things would change . . . "

"Force-users like us are agents of change, Titus. And when Dark and Light come together, it is always for a reason. Change is the usual result. You're not old enough to realize this, but change happens fast and then you sink into a lull for a while to absorb it. And then one day out of the blue, it will happen again. Few things are permanent in life. Change is a constant."

"So when do we get to the lull part? Because I feel like my life is still constant change." It's an honest question from the candidly confused look on his boy's face.

"I don't know," Kylo admits. "But I'm hoping that your mother and I can get along better. And then things will become more normal for us all."

"None of this is normal!" the boy lashes out in frustration now. "Mom's all over the holonet and you're . . . you're you . . . and now I'm supposed to rule the galaxy and balance the Force when six months ago some headmaster was lecturing me that I was a screw-up who would end up homeless under a bridge somewhere because I would be a failure in life." Titus now slams down hard the button to activate the landing cycle as they approach palace air space. "This is way more than I can do!" he rails. Then the boy's rush of words ends and now father and son sit in silence a long moment.

"You will not fail. Not with your mother and I here to help you."

"I never wanted any of this—" the kid half-wails. And in the moment, Kylo is strongly reminded of Rey. She had never wanted any of this either. But she too had found her way back to it all the same. Because that is the way of things. That is the way of the Force.

"Titus." He gets his son's attention and holds his gaze. "I was a fifteen-year-old who didn't want any of this either. I was running away from the Force and from the leadership my family demanded of me. I ran as far and as fast as I could. But I ran smack into Snoke."

"Yeah? What's your point?"

"Son, you cannot escape your destiny. If there is any moral to the story of our family, that is it. Being born a slave on an obscure backwater planet did not impede my grandfather's greatness. My mother and her brother were separated at birth and yet they found each other eventually. My uncle was a farm boy who ended up taking down the Empire. My mother ended up founding the New Republic and leading the Resistance. It has been the same for every generation of our clan and it will be the same for you. But take heart. You can't possibly fail, Titus. Even if you try. Because you're a Skywalker."

The boy looks away at this grand speech. But Kylo keeps going. "We are people who matter. We are leaders. You can run from the responsibilities of our life but you cannot escape them. Sooner or later, you would have ended up here with me. Publicly known as my kid. As heir to my Empire. In time, you will get used to it."

"I don't think I want this," the boy spits out.

Kylo refuses to accept this answer. "To whom much is given, much will be required, Titus Ren. You don't get to choose this life. It chooses you. But it's not exactly hardship duty." Kylo points down at the palace below as they start to descend. "There are far worse things than being a Skywalker prince."

"Yeah? Well, how does that lecture explain Mom?" his boy demands hotly. "Because she didn't get given much. She got the Force and not a damn thing else on Jakku. I saw how she lived."

Kylo hesitates. Because of course the conversation keeps coming back around the Rey. Nestor was right that Rey is the key to his son.

"Titus, I don't expect you to understand this, but I have been trying for years to give your mother everything. She keeps thrusting it away with both hands. In some ways, your mother is her own worst enemy." Kylo says this softly and with much regret. "She can be very stubborn some times."

He and Titus are back to tense bickering again. The easy, fun mood from before is gone. So Kylo tries again by humbling himself a bit. "Look, I'm not very good at this father thing. And I never expected any of this either, Titus. You were as much a surprise to me as I was to you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Kylo smirks now. "You know, when my uncle first met Vader, Vader cut his hand off. You got off easy, kid."

"That's not how I see it," his boy retorts.

Kylo lets the comment slide. He can't get too upset at his son's grumbling. This is the best conversation he's had with the kid since Empire Day and it is true progress. And if it's resentful and blunt, then fine. Because it's real. "We're not a cuddly bunch, I'll grant you that. But that sort of thing is what your mother is here for. And with her Light and my Darkness, in time you will grow to be the true Chosen One. Titus, you will eclipse us all when you bring balance to the Force."

The boy looks away. "That's your dream. Not mine."

"No. It's your destiny." Kylo reverts again to his earlier theme. "You cannot escape your destiny. Do not try. It only leads to tragedy."

They are completing the landing cycle now and Kylo spies Rey waiting on the palace landing platform. Her presence is just what they need to lighten the mood. "Look, here's your mother. Let's go tell her what we did. She'll want to hear all about it."

Dinner that night is actually fun. The conversation is easy for once. Titus gives the now sobered and recovered Rey the play-by-play of their dogfight. He is animated and excited to share his adventure. Rey is impressed and full of questions. Listening to it all, Kylo himself relives the fun. It's been a long time since he's been in the cockpit of a TIE feeling the rush of combat. Even if today it was fake, it was fun. All in all, tonight Kylo feels like Sith Master dad of the year. He's managed to find something to relate to Titus about other than the Force. But it's still a useful skill for the kid to learn. Soccer is a fine hobby, but flying, shooting, war, and the Force are what the boy really needs to excel at. And luckily, his kid has plenty of natural talent. Kylo is feeling indulgent and proud as he promises that they will do it again soon. Can Mom come too, Titus wants to know. Kylo catches Rey's eye. Sure, why not? He smiles and for once Rey smiles back.

After dinner, it's time to talk Force. Titus still can't open the Jedi holochron even after Rey repeatedly demonstrates how. The boy is soon frustrated and discouraged. Kylo just looks on without interruption. He is silently basking in Rey's Light, bathing his mind in her Force as she opens the holochron over and over again. And damn . . . it feels so good. Kylo absently listens in to the introductory Jedi lesson on Force healing that the holochron contains. It's a purely intellectual exercise, for Kylo himself will never be doing that trick. Healing by its nature is the quintessential expression of the Light. A Dark Sith Master like himself will never do it. But with any luck, his son will. In due time, with more practice. But not tonight.

"It's impossible! I can't do it!"

The boy looks so downcast that Kylo is moved to cheer him up. He doesn't want the day to end on a down note. "My Master used to say that the Force is the work of several lifetimes," Kylo intones in his most sage Sith Master voice. "And Coruscant wasn't built in a day, Titus."

"Master, I'll never do it," the boy grumbles dejectedly.

Looking at his son's expression, Kylo remembers his own frustration during his padawan days. Every time his sanctimonious uncle would start spouting Yoda-isms, Kylo had wanted to Force choke him. _Do or do not._ _There is try._ _You don't believe it . . . that is why you fail._ It was a lot of useless, annoying bullshit. Snoke had a completely different approach, naturally. A man grows into Darkness, the old Muun had advised. You mature into power and it cannot be forced. Beware too much, too soon. And remembering his son's yellow eyes on Empire Day, Kylo heeds that wisdom. Even if Titus isn't opening the holochron, he is striving for the Light and that in itself is good for him, Kylo thinks. The more Light, the better right now.

Kylo watches as Rey leans over to kiss the boy's averted cheek. "It's been a long day," Rey soothes. "Let's call it a night and we can try again another time. Do you want to keep it?" she offers up the pretty cube.

"Yes," comes the boy's determined growl as he rudely swipes the cube from her hand. From that, it's clear Titus won't be getting any sleep tonight. More than likely, the boy will be up fretting over opening the holochron all night. But whatever. The kid needs a challenge.

Titus stalks away to bed now as Kylo and Rey together watch him leave. "He even walks like you," Rey says quietly once the boy is gone. "He's so much like you." She turns back to Kylo. "You are a very patient teacher with him. I remember you being very patient with me too." And is that praise? That sounded like praise.

"It's fun to teach," Kylo admits. "I like watching him learn." He and Rey start walking together back to their rooms now. This has become a habit most nights. They make their way to their separate beds while discussing their son. "How is your own Force study coming?" Kylo asks. "Have you tried actual healing yet?"

"No," Rey answers. "I suppose I should."

"The Force is like a muscle," he quotes Snoke again. "You need to use it to develop it. And it usually doesn't start strong. Although," Kylo looks to the woman who might once have been his Jedi foe, "in your case, it started very strong. You should go find a hospital and try it out, Rey. Milo can arrange it for you."

She nods at this suggestion. "Yes, maybe I'll try that soon. Once I have a bit more practice."

"Take Titus along with you. He should see that. It might help."

"Okay," Rey agrees easily. Ironically, the Force is what he and Rey agree upon the most. It's everything else they tend to bicker about. And that's very strange for the lone surviving Sith and an almost Jedi knight.

They are at their connecting quarters now, stopped outside Rey's door. She waves her hand and it opens with the Force. Kylo pokes his head in. "You're not going to start marking the walls are you?"

He says this lightly but Rey takes it the wrong way and shoots him a look. "Not unless you make this a prison, Kylo."

Yeah . . . that prison cell had been a bad idea. Nestor had been right. But Kylo can't change that now. And he should never have brought up such a touchy subject. He tries to make amends. "Rey, I have never wanted you for a prisoner. I want us to move forward now."

She looks up at him curiously. "Forward to what? What is this, Kylo? We live together but you want separate lives?" Rey shakes her head at him and throws up her hands. "I still don't understand what this relationship is."

He doesn't either, to be honest. He has been making this up as he goes along. One mistake after another, it seems. So Kylo is defensive. "I don't have a name for it. Do we need a name for it?" he counters.

"No." Rey backs down. "No. I guess not." She tucks her hair behind her ear. It's a gesture he knows means that she is self-conscious. "I suppose I should apologize for last night," she begins weakly. "I would have done so this morning but Titus was there. And he doesn't need to know this."

Kylo eyes her. He's listening.

"Cesi and I . . . we were drunk . . . and ugly. You made it clear what you wanted and your private life is your own. We burst in on you . . . you weren't throwing it my face . . . " Rey is sincere. Her stilted apology hasn't been rehearsed. But it goes downhill from there. "Kylo, it doesn't matter what you do. I don't care . . ."

He stops her there. "I wish you did care," he says impulsively. "Rey, those girls don't mean anything," he promises. That's the problem with them, actually. Those encounters are physical only and they leave him more empty than before. Kylo Ren an emotional Sith and he needs to feel something for sex to be completely satisfying. This isn't new-he was like this long before Rey. During the war years, he had mostly looked on during his knight's bacchanals, rarely participating.

"Rey, last night was the first new girl since you came back," he confesses. "I sent her home after you and Cesi walked in." Rey is the one apologizing but now Kylo feels he owes her his own explanation. "I wanted some company. That's all." Kylo looks away. Feeling humiliated to be admitting this to Rey of all people. "Power can be isolating."

"It's not just your power that isolates you. You do this to yourself, you know. Pushing people away with your violence and your posturing. Wearing a mask." Rey looks a bit rueful now. "This is why a girl from Jakku was appealing, right? Because back then I was like those young impressionable girls. Wowed by attention from the great Kylo Ren."

"You were never like those girls. And you know that!" The words come out angry. He's hurt that she thinks this. Kylo takes a step forward now and watches as Rey takes two steps back. That hurts too. So he turns away, running a nervous hand through his hair. "Nestor has been nagging at me for a while about quitting those girls. He's right. There is no happiness there. I just . . . I just wanted to move on . . . "

"Neither of us can move on living like this."

She's right. And he's frustrated about it too. "Look, I don't have a better solution, Rey. I can't live with you and I can't live without you. And now there is Titus in the mix. He's what matters. If you and I have to sacrifice our happiness for him, we will. Snoke sacrificed his life for me. Vader gave his life for my uncle. I can at least tolerate living like this for Titus. You can too." Kylo nods encouragingly at Rey. "In time, we will adjust. You'll see. And it's not so bad."

But Rey disagrees. "Titus is struggling. Really struggling. Can't you see that?"

"I know. But he'll open that holochron eventually."

"I'm not talking about the Force!" Rey snaps. "I'm talking about at school. And just generally. Empire Day was very hard on him."

Yeah, he knows. "He'll get over it. It will mature him. And he will learn not to care what others think. School isn't his real problem. His problem is that he is growing too Dark too soon."

Rey looks annoyed now. "Can we stop talking about the Force and talk about him? About Titus as a person? Not as a Sith."

What? She's not making sense. "But our family and the Force are intrinsically intertwined-"

"Don't you want him to be happy?" Rey interrupts. She looks exasperated. "Doesn't that matter?"

"Rey, he's a Skywalker. We don't get to be happy." It fucking hurts to admit that truth aloud. But there's never been a lasting happy ending on the Dark Side and more and more Kylo is convinced there never will be. He runs his hand through his hair again and sighs. "Look, I think that's the real meaning here. I think that explains both Titus and us."

"So you're fine to be a sad Skywalker?" Rey's tone tells him she isn't. "Well, maybe that's good enough for you, but I'm not settling for the rest of my life being miserable and alone. I want better for myself and for Titus. For you too, Kylo."

"It's too late for me." He's had his chance. Well, he had two chances. And he blew them both.

"Yeah, I guess so. With that attitude. Goodnight, Kylo." She starts to march into her room.

"Rey, wait—"

"Yes?" She's impatient to get away but Kylo ignores it. He wants to linger because today was fun and on the whole tonight was fun too. And he doesn't want it to end. Rey is looking up at him and they are standing close. And this weirdly feels like the end to a date and not a random moment in the hallway of his palace. Because in front of her open door, he's foolishly hoping she'll invite him in—which she won't—but also hoping for a consolation prize of a goodnight kiss. But that won't happen either. Less than a minute from now, he knows he will be back in his room alone like always.

So impulsively, he offers, "I won't get any more girls. Rey, you won't have to see any more girls."

She nods. "Okay."

Is she pleased? Does it even matter? He can't be sure.

"I mean it," he doubles down. Inadvertently consigning himself to chastity for the rest of this pretend marriage. "No more girls."

Rey nods again. "Okay." Then she sort of smiles before she ducks inside. "Goodnight."


	29. Chapter 29

The man is of indeterminate age. Slick with very good hair and holonet looks. He smiles genially into the camera. "Welcome citizens of the Empire. We're privileged tonight to be behind the palace doors for an exclusive interview with her Excellency, the Empress herself."

At the man's side, a youngish woman with impressive hair and suspiciously tight skin takes this as her cue. Her voice is breathless with a singsong intonation no one uses in real life. "You saw her on Empire Day, but who is this mysterious woman who stole the heart of Kylo Ren? We'll find out tonight in this sit down with Renata Palpatine herself." And now, the woman turns to Rey who is seated opposite her a little stiffly on a couch. "Thank you for having us, your Excellency. It is a very great honor."

Rey gamely smiles. She can do this. "It's my pleasure," she says with her best regal princess nod.

The camera swings back to the male host. "Viewers at home should know that Emperor Ren has asked us not to dwell on the past. So we won't be asking the Empress about the circumstances of her imprisonment and release."

The woman at his side nods. "Instead, we will get to know our Empress. Who she is, where she is from, and what comes next for the Imperial family." She turns back to Rey to flash a very white toothed smile. "Your Excellency—"

"Please, call me Rey."

"Can we do that?" The woman looks briefly flustered as she glances behind Rey to an off-camera cluster of palace PR handlers. They look flustered now too. This wasn't in yesterday's lengthy prep session.

Rey doesn't wait for her handlers to nod the consent. An Empress doesn't need anyone's permission. "Of course, you can," Rey says firmly. "My friends all call me Rey. I'm not a very formal person. If you will indulge me tonight, it will help put me at ease. It has been many years since I have been in the public eye." Rey gives a sheepish, self-effacing smile. "I'm afraid I'm not very good at this sort of thing."

"As you wish er . . . R-Rey. Tell us-how does it feel to be reunited with your family and to take your rightful place at the Emperor's side?"

It's a fluffy, open-ended question just like what Rey has been led to expect. She's been instructed to take it as an opportunity to play the fawning wife. So Rey dutifully sticks to the script but keeps her gushing to a minimum. "I am grateful for the mercy of Darth Ren the Just. It means everything to be able to play a meaningful role in my son's life." Rey shuts up after that. The least said about Empire Day, the better.

The man interjects now with yet another explanation for the audience watching at home. "Please know that tonight we will be following the wishes of the Imperial family to avoid discussion of their young son. We will respect his privacy."

And now that the tight confines of the interview have been made clear, the woman resumes her perky chatter. "Your Excellency—"

"Rey."

"R-Rey, will you be assuming your official duties soon? The palace sets the tone for much of the social scene here on Coruscant. Everyone wants to know how you make your mark as Empress. Will there be changes to the protocol at the palace? Will you be redecorating? Have you hired a social secretary? Tell us what you have planned so far."

"Actually, I'm doing none of those things." Rey's response is characteristically direct, but not rude. Her words are soft but straightforward, like herself.

"None?" The woman blinks as if she has misheard.

"None." Rey takes a deep breath and ignores the imploring gestures from the team of handlers off to the side. She's not keen on talking about ordering a new china pattern and settling back into life with her beloved almost-murdered-her husband. Tonight, Rey will be herself.

"I hate to disappoint anyone, but I don't know much protocol and I am not a party planning sort of girl. My friend Cesi has done an exemplary job over the years as official hostess at the palace. So much so that the Emperor and I have asked her to retain that role. Cesi excels in it. She sets a high standard that I could never improve upon."

"By Cesi, you mean Lady Cessily Flick, the Chancellor's wife?"

"Yes." Rey smiles broadly at the mention of her friend. "She'll always be Cesi to me. She is an old friend from . . . before. From the war." The handlers are looking alarmed again and it's distracting. The very mention of the past seems to set them off. Rey does her best to ignore them.

She nervously soothes the skirt of her casual dress. Cesi Flick had privately been adamant that Rey wear one of her familiar four outfits tonight. Be the person everyone is expecting. Look like yourself and feel like yourself, Cesi had decreed. It will give you maximum confidence. Rey had taken this advice to heart. Because being interviewed before billions on the holonet is everything Rey had ever feared about being Kylo Ren's Empress. But here she is doing it. Sure, years ago she had appeared on Coruscant as a princess during the end of the war. But those outings were always in tightly controlled environments where Rey was asked to say very little. Her job was to look pretty for the cameras and to do good works. It had been nothing like this.

Interviews like tonight are part of what Rey had dreaded most about taking on the Empress role. Fearing that she would be revealed for the backwater scavenger she is. That her Resistance past too would complicate things. That she might say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing or embarrass herself or Kylo. Those fears mattered greatly to an eager-to-please girl of twenty thrust first by Snoke and then by Kylo way out of her comfort zone. But those fears matter much less at thirty-five.

She is a different woman now. Rey is comfortable with her life story and she has the confidence that comes with maturity. Plus, there was something strangely liberating about having the worst of her life publicly laid bare on Empire Day. Her broken relationship with Kylo exposed and her struggling but valiant young son rushing headlong into that conflict with deadly consequences. It's hard to be self-conscious about how you look and act on camera after that. Really, all she can go is up, Rey figures. She still has insecurities, but those fears no longer control her. And neither do Kylo Ren and his PR team, she has decided. She won't be a First Order prop to trot out and speak in talking points with a plastered smile. Rey is far too genuine for that.

When Cesi had first approached Rey about doing tonight's interview, Rey had said Hell no. Then Milo had made a reasoned pitch and Rey had said a polite no. Finally, Kylo had asked her to do it in front of Titus. The third time had been the charm, apparently. Rey had relented with one large caveat: if she is going to do this Empress thing, she's going to do it on her own terms. Fair enough. I would expect nothing less. Kylo had surprised her with that response. Then he had sent Cesi and a team of advisers to her and walked away. What followed was a day long prep session during which everyone tried to change everything about her. And this only quietly reaffirmed Rey's decision that she would be herself. Her covert co-conspirator and personal cheerleader Cesi Flick had agreed.

The interview lady now tries another broad question to get Rey talking. "Tell us how do you envision your role as Empress? Will you be championing any particular cause?"

Again, Rey reverts to the prepared script. But only because it's true. Not because it's expected. "I am looking forward to supporting the Emperor's efforts to ensure free public education on all worlds. Particularly in the Rim. Do not let my accent fool you. I grew up impoverished in the far Western Reaches of the Outer Rim."

"Jakku." The woman nods gravely. "Jakku as in the Battle of Jakku," she supplies helpfully for the mostly Core World audience who no doubt have only a vague idea of where the Western Reaches are located.

Rey takes a deep fortifying breath. Because here comes the hard part of being yourself, Rey thinks. But gamely, she presses forward. After the ugly reveal of Empire Day, what's the point in pretending?

"Yes," she begins. "I was born on Coruscant but I grew up on Jakku. There was no education on my homeworld. I learned what I could off the holonet, but I have no formal schooling." Rey feels her face flame at this unfortunate reveal. "I'm sorry, but that's hard for me to say. I used to try to hide it. I used to be very ashamed of my background, as if it were my fault. But it isn't. My plight is all too typical of developing worlds. I cannot change my own experience but I would like to change opportunities for others. So that one day no child will grow up alone, uneducated and hungry."

"With the surname Palpatine, we did not expect a humble Jakku upbringing," the man speaks up with a frown.

"My accent is the only legacy of my background," Rey says quietly.

"And the Force."

"And the Force. I have the Force," Rey confirms.

"Is the Force how you met Emperor Ren?" This is the woman talking. She clearly has no desire to talk more about Jakku. She's here for the juicy dish. "Please tell us how you met. We are all so curious about the personal side of his Excellency."

The handlers have a lovely meet-cute version of the truth that Rey now eschews in favor of the truth. "I met Kylo by accident on Jakku. He was there to see the battle wreckage. At the time, I had no idea he was Kylo Ren. He was just some guy in the First Order who was willing to trade power converters."

"So no mask?" the woman seems very surprised.

Rey nods. "No sword either. Just a regular guy. He said he was a tourist."

"A tourist?" The woman gives a little chuckle. "So . . . was it love at first sight?" The woman leans forward in her seat with eyebrows raised expectantly.

"No." Rey is blunt. "He remembers me trying to beat him up. But I remember running from him. Strangers were often hostile on Jakku. It was best to be cautious."

This is not the answer the interviewer is expecting. But she soldiers on. "So . . . then what happened?"

"We became friends," Rey recalls. "He kept coming around. Sometimes, Kylo would join me while I scavenged in the battle wreckage." Rey looks into the camera. "When I couldn't get work for smugglers, I would scavenge for old parts to sell for food. I lived hand to mouth on Jakku for years surrounded by the wreckage of war. It shaped who I am today. Because when you grow up stepping over bodies in downed star destroyers, you learn to hate war."

The woman blanches. This is not the line of discussion she had been hoping for. So she tries to steer the conversation back to less gritty topics. "So it was a secret romance? When did you learn who he was?"

"It was early on . . . " Rey hesitates as she recalls that fateful day. She can't help but smile a little wistfully now at the innocence of it all. At the man who was a hero to her long before he became the villain. "Kylo pulled his sword to save me from a gang of slavers who were passing through. I recognized the sword and realized who he was. He killed four or five men that day saving me. But that was Kylo Ren. Bold, brave, loyal and violent . . . always quick to violence . . . " Rey's voice trails off and the camera catches a sad cast to her face. She blinks and quickly collects herself. "Then, I felt like an idiot. All this time, the guy I had been hanging out with was really Kylo Ren."

"What did you do then?"

Rey laughs a little at the memory. "I made him go put on the whole getup. You know, the mask, the gloves, and the knight's coat. Kylo didn't wear the cape back then. The rest is history, as they say." Rey glosses over a lot with that statement. "Gosh, we were so young . . . I was nineteen and he had just turned thirty." And, yikes, perhaps she shouldn't have said that. Because judging by the reaction of her handlers, Kylo Ren's age is information that had not been public before tonight.

"So you married soon afterwards?" The woman must know this from the barebones official bio the palace has released. It basically says they met, they married, she went to jail. Rey had laughed at her life summarized so succinctly. "Tell us about the wedding."

"We married on the Starkiller." Rey plays along with this one prepared lie for Titus' sake. Kylo seems to care a great deal that his son is believed to have been born in wedlock. But Rey is not about to gush about her pretend happiest day of her life. So she volunteers some other information instead. "I lived with Supreme Leader Snoke for a time during the war and later on a First Order compound with the Flick family. Then, I lived with Kylo on his star destroyer here above Coruscant."

"Publicly, you and Emperor Ren were brother and sister back then," the male interviewer informs the audience. "We have seen the old footage of your relief efforts here on Coruscant during the war. And we understand that you were instrumental in two failed peace attempts towards the end. In an interview earlier this week, Chancellor Flick credited you personally as the brains behind many of the regime's initial reforms. From the Senate, to the constitution, to the general amnesty. Apparently, we have you to thank, Empress, for many of the initial democratic tenets of Empire."

Rey downplays her influence. "It was a group effort. Many people from both sides of the conflict had been discussing those topics long before me."

"But you personally championed them to Kylo Ren."

"I was one among a chorus of voices," Rey again deflects the praise.

"The Chancellor would say that you are far too modest."

"It is the Chancellor himself who is far too modest," Rey maintains, knowing full well that Nestor Flick is one of a handful of people who can and does speak truth to the power of Kylo Ren. "We wanted to marry the best of the Old Empire with the most important freedoms of the Old Republic. Kylo was very accommodating, all in all." Rey gives praise where it is due. "Kylo wanted to end the war. We all did. It was time for the killing to stop."

Rey glances back over the interviewers' shoulders. Then she leans forward to whisper conspiratorially. "Everyone off camera is frowning at me now. No one wants me to talk about the war. Has enough time passed that we can talk about the war?" she asks. When the interviewers both blink in dismay, Rey plunges forward to get something off her chest. It's been bothering her since the night of Cesi's book club. "I met a woman recently who told me that her father is one of the thousands still missing in the war. He was a militia member detained here on Coruscant and never heard from again. That woman and others like her deserve to know the truth about what happened, if it's available."

The interviewers stare at her uncomfortably. Again, Rey is veering away from the discussion of party planning and domestic bliss they had been given to expect.

Rey continues: "I think that woman deserves to know what happened so her family can find closure and move on. Telling the truth won't change her father's fate or change the outcome of the war. But it will matter tremendously to her. Look, I grew up an orphan not knowing the fate of my own family. I know what it is to wonder and to wait. To fantasize for a happy ending that will never come. It's not enough to have habeas corpus proceedings. We also need to explain the fate of those who disappeared in the past. So we can move forward to a unified future."

"Is that what you wish to do?" the woman follows up with clear trepidation. She keeps exchanging looks with her colleague. "Do you want to heal the wounds from the war?"

"I can't do that. No one can." Rey looks away and her voice softens. "The war was brutal. It cost my family a great deal. I know that many others feel the same way. But it's been over now for years. And it's time to provide answers and information to help people on the losing side move on."

"What else would you like to see Emperor Ren do?" the male interviewer now takes the lead. His colleague is a well-known entertainment and lifestyle reporter and it's clear she is way out of her league on these topics.

Rey plows forward, emboldened by the fact that she is being taken seriously. "I'd like to see my husband apologize for Hosnia and for some of the other brutal tactics that deliberately targeted civilians during the war. I was here on Coruscant during the siege. It was awful." Rey looks down at her hands for a moment before looking up and straight into the camera. "It was slaughter."

"Do you think Emperor Ren will listen to you on his agenda?" the man probes. He sounds skeptical.

"I don't know. He used to listen to me. But now . . . well . . . I don't know," Rey admits. "But what's the harm in providing information and giving apologies if he's right and there will be no more wars? All I want is for him to at least consider it."

The man nods and now the interview becomes overtly political. All pretense that this is a fluffy meet and greet chat is over. "So does this mean you intend to become a progressive political voice as Empress? That you will be a sort of critic of the regime? Chancellor Flick did call you the longtime voice of conscience to Emperor Ren."

The PR handlers are really melting down now, Rey can see from their faces. So she attempts to smooth things over somewhat. "I'm a Rim girl, so Kylo and I always have agreed on many of the goals of the First Order. We disagreed on his means. But the war is over. He won. And so now I would like to help Kylo make the Empire as just and fair as possible." Rey takes a deep breath and summarizes her new role in her own words. Framing it as optimistically as possible. "I am my husband's ally and counselor, not his critic. We share the same dream of peace and progress for the galaxy."

"You mean peace and order?"

Whoops. "Yes, of course."

The man raises an eyebrow. "Some argue that Emperor Ren does not tolerate dissenting views. Will he accept them from you, Empress?"

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Rey gives a sheepish smile as she sits back now. "Wish me luck that I don't end up back in a cell tomorrow. I may be doing my next interview from prison."

"Is that a real risk?" the man asks pointedly. And now the First Order PR chief in the background is furiously motioning for a commercial break.

But first, Rey answers the question. "It's Kylo Ren," she nods. "So, yeah. Anything is possible."

They go to commercial break and Rey's handlers erupt in an uproar she ignores. Quickly, they give up convincing her to backtrack. So for the remaining three minutes of dead time, they berate the two interviewers into moving on to lighter topics. When the broadcast resumes, they discuss how Rey is enjoying exploring the famed city world of Coruscant. They chat about how Rey wants to take her son to and from school and watch soccer games with the rest of the parents. She may do some volunteering up at school too, Rey thinks aloud. I don't plan to stay holed up in this palace surrounded by guards, she declares. I want to be out living among the people as normally as possible. I'm a regular person and I want to live like a regular person. By the time she says this, Rey has her feet tucked up beside her on the couch. Master Yoda the cat is curled at her side purring as Rey absently pets him. The longer the interview goes on, the more relaxed and comfortable Rey has become. It's the interviewers who are becoming increasingly stiff and nervous.

"Did you ever think you would be the Empress? That's not a far stretch for a great-granddaughter of old Emperor Palpatine, after all. You might have inherited an Empire," the woman interviewer observes.

Rey laughs at this idea. "Growing up, I wanted to be a mechanic in the pit crew of a pod racing team. I thought that was the most glamorous job ever."

"As glamorous as being the Empress?" the woman attempts to tease.

Rey responds dryly. "Did you see me on Empire Day? That was hardly glamorous."

Next, they cover how Rey likes to cook. How she is a mechanic by trade and likes to work with her hands. If I'd had any education, I might have been an engineer, Rey reveals. I really like technology and I like to solve problems. She gives a self-deprecating laugh. This-she points to and from herself and her interviewers-is way out of my comfort zone. I can't speak in sound bites, formality makes me nervous, and I'm not as smooth as I would like in social situations. What can I say? Again, the galactic Empress is self-effacing. I'm from Jakku.

The woman interviewer keeps pressing for more information. "Empress, we've learned tonight how interested you are in education reforms and about your goals as a mother. But our viewers are very interested to learn what's next for you personally. Perhaps a goodwill tour of the galaxy? Or a new charitable foundation? Maybe another baby?"

Rey blinks at this last suggestion. She decides to be truthful and, hopefully, to shut down all this awkward gossipy talk. So Rey announces, "I want to learn the ways of the Force. I want to become a Jedi like my grandmother."

The tactic works. The uncomfortable silence that follows is deafening.

The woman recovers first. Her voice is a hoarse whisper, like she's expecting troopers to storm the room any second to arrest them all. "Isn't that dangerous talk?" she hisses. "The Force is illegal."

Her colleague agrees. Speaking to the camera, he hastens to remind viewers that "We do not endorse or condone this talk. We are loyal citizens of the Empire who know that the Jedi were traitors to both the Old Republic and the Old Empire."

Rey watches this reaction in silence. She shrugs. "It's treason then."

Another silence follows. The pair stare at Rey, uncertain now how to proceed. Then, the woman speaks to someone off camera. "Are we done here? I think we're done here . . . "

The First Order PR chief standing in the corner looks like he might faint.

Rey fights the urge to giggle at their dismay. She leans forward to break the suspense as she confides, "It was Kylo's idea for me to learn the Jedi tradition. He's been lobbying me to do this."

"Oh." The pair visibly relaxes. But the PR chief does not. "Riiiiiight."

"The knowledge of the Jedi will continue even if their religious Order does not. We will preserve the best of their tradition for posterity," Rey explains matter of fact.

"Okaaaaay." And now the interviewers voluntarily call for another commercial break.

* * *

Kylo watches Rey's interview real-time with Cesi, Nestor, Milo, and Vanee. The small group are in a conference room adjacent to the room where the nervous First Order PR team awaits their boss. Kylo fully intends to march next door at some point too but first he wants to see the post-interview chatter. It is as he expects. Kylo watches in silence as the holonet pundits chew hard on the red meat Rey has just thrown them.

 _"_ _Wow._ _Just wow._ _There is so much to unpack here, I don't know where to start._ _But Kylo Ren's surprise wife did not disappoint."_

 _"_ _Let's all remember that this woman didn't beg for mercy from Kylo Ren on Empire Day, she demanded freedom._ _I think going forward that will be a very telling distinction._ _I'm betting we've heard just the beginning of her progressive politics tonight."_

 _"_ _Yes, and those viewpoints are very unexpected from a woman with the surname Palpatine._ _But since we learned of her existence, nothing about our Empress has been as expected._ _She has a Coruscant accent but a Jakku background, she plotted treason with Luke Skywalker and the Resistance while she was married to Kylo Ren, and she has apparently been imprisoned for years despite her key role in the brain trust that formed the New Empire._ _None of this makes much sense, to be honest."_

 _"_ _Yes, indeed._ _Tonight's interview raised more questions than it answered._ _How did these two get together and why are they still together?_ _It might have been a love match at the beginning, but it's clearly not any longer."_

 _"_ _Oh, come on-this looks to have been a political marriage from the get-go._ _This woman is the heiress to the original Empire and she has the Force._ _Some might argue that she has a stronger claim to rule the galaxy than Kylo Ren does._ _It's no secret why he married her._ _The only secret tonight is why did he ever let her out of jail?"_

 _"_ _Agreed._ _If you tuned in tonight looking for lovey-dovey scoop on the Imperial couple, there wasn't much of it._ _Aside from a charming story about Emperor Ren meeting his wife while touring Jakku and later saving her from slavers, the big story from tonight is politics."_

 _"_ _Yes, and controversial politics at that._ _Does anyone seriously_ _think that Emperor Ren will open records on the detainees from the war years?_ _That issue has never gained much traction in the polls._ _Most loyal subjects of the Empire view those missing persons as traitors who got what they deserved._ _Raising this will only reopen old war wounds best left alone."_

 _"_ _What about an official apology for the Starkiller?_ _The Old Empire never apologized for Alderaan or Jedha City._ _Will the New Empire apologize for Hosnia?"_

 _"_ _Absolutely not."_

 _"_ _Don't forget that there is a prohibition on superweapons in the constitution—"_

 _"_ _Which we now know is thanks to our lefty Jedi Empress."_

 _"_ _Look, committing not to build new superweapons is not the same as apologizing for use of one._ _For years the debate has raged over whether the war might have been less costly had the Starkiller been around to act as a deterrent."_

 _"_ _Let's put the political issues aside for a moment._ _Does anyone think that the Empress will end up back in a cell tomorrow?_ _Because for me, tonight was just Empire Day Part Two._ _Once again, we wait to see with Emperor Ren will do._ _Let's see a show of hands on the panel—who thinks this woman disappears tonight?_ _And who thinks she hangs around as Empress?_ _Alright, we're about evenly split."_

 _"_ _I'm going to play Devil's Advocate and argue that this was all a strategy by the palace._ _They let this woman out of prison for a reason._ _They stuck her in front of a camera tonight for a reason._ _Emperor Ren is signaling some shifts to the center and the left on key issues and he's using his wife as the means to convey that reform."_

 _"_ _Wrong._ _That woman says she wants to be a Jedi._ _She is definitely going back in a cell._ _They didn't call Kylo Ren the Jedi Killer during the war for nothing."_

 _"_ _Was anyone getting a Leia Organa vibe from her?_ _Because I was."_

 _"_ _Leia Organa?_ _No, I disagree._ _The politics might be similar but the style is not._ _Rey Palpatine wasn't argumentative at all._ _And her politics are not motivated by elite noblesse oblige._ _You get the sense that this is her real-life experience._ _She a Rimmer who bought into some, but not all, of the First Order's ideas._ _She's no warmonger like Leia Organa."_

 _"_ _Yes, and she's much more likeable than General Organa was._ _The Empress is likeable despite her views."_

 _"_ _Was anyone else disappointed by the limitations on this interview?_ _We didn't learn anything further about all those cryptic references to the Skywalker family we heard on Empire Day._ _And we still don't know exactly what this woman did to merit being jailed for over a decade._ _Although all that Jedi talk tonight is probably a big clue._ _I wonder if we knew a little more whether it all would make sense."_

Kylo has the gist now. He switches off the holonet. Just then a swift moving man thunders past the open door of the conference room. It's the PR Chief and by the looks of him, he's not pleased. He's heading next door to confront his team and his irate raised voice carries through the open doorway he stands in. In silence, Kylo and his inner circle listen in to the man's stream of consciousness meltdown.

"What the FUCK was that people? He's going to come in here and execute every last one of us for this fuck up! You-get on the com to our best press friends and start doing damage control. Message is that the Empress is new to this sort of thing and she's been in a solitary cell for years and she might be a little loony because of it. So, cut her a little slack. You-start working on stories to plant in the press. She's not everyday boring, she's relatable. She's not a Jedi traitor with leftist views, she an example of the broad-minded tolerance of Emperor Ren. You get the point? And do something with the story of him saving her from slavery. You know, Rim damsel in distress saved by our hero Emperor in disguise. That at least nicely aligns to our agenda. And someone go book Lady Flick on all the morning shows tomorrow. She's a team player and she's good for our brand. Have her talk about anything—I don't care what. Just get her out there to remind everyone that we've got a smooth and classy First Lady even if the Empress is a freak. People, we need anything and everything to move along the news cycle. So start spinning."

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! This is a disaster! How did this happen? We had a narrative, people! Loving mother and grateful contrite wifey. She loves the Empire, she loves being Empress, and she loves Kylo Ren. She can't wait to further the cause of peace and order. Oh, Gods, did she even say one nice thing about him? Where were the talking points we had her memorize? What is it I say, people? Stay on message! That's all she had to do and it was your job to make it happen! Who was in that prep session yesterday? All of you—yes, you too-you're fired."

"And what was with the feet on the couch? Did no one coach her on how to act on camera? What is she going to do next time-pick her nose? Geez, tonight was painful and so avoidable! How long have we been doing this people? This is the First Order and we are elevating the Rim trash not coming down to their level! Thank the Gods she has that accent. A Jakku Empress . . . only the First Order would have an illiterate mechanic Empress from the Rim. All of the Core is laughing at us right now and tomorrow's opinion polls will show it, mark my words. We are FUCKED people!"

"Who did the clothes? You did? You're fired. She's the Empress, not some Junior League mom. We discussed an updated version of her war years, right? A little less girly but still feminine, soft and elegant. And unattainable. She's supposed on be an expensive princess on a pedestal. You gave me mom who shops at the local mall. No worse-mom who shops the sale rack at the local mall. And where was the wedding ring? We specifically discussed a wedding ring. Visual cues reinforce the narrative, people! You are more than fired-if I could, I would fire you twice. For incompetence and for bad taste."

"Hair and makeup were good. Who did that? Alright, good job. But sex it up a bit more next time. Kylo Ren's wife should look hot. She bagged the leader of the galaxy. He can get any woman he wants so he gets a young, hot one. So next time, a little less girl next door and a little more smolder—got it?"

"Who did the camera angles? Those were good. She didn't look fat once. Thank the Gods for that. She might be Rim but she's sample size at least. But next time, position the long shot from the right instead of the left. Her nose looks a little big from the left."

"Damn, I hope there is a next time . . . but I don't know if we can come back from this. First impression on Empire Day and she's calling Kylo Ren an asshole. Second impression she's a droid killing bitch gone viral. Third impression she's some basic mom with radical political views and bizarre aspirations to be a Jedi. It's clear now why he put her in jail. But why the Hell did he let her out? The wife is supposed to be pleasant to look at, pleasant to listen to, and boringly on message. She doesn't get thoughts of her own, people! Did none of you tell her that?"

Kylo has heard enough. He waves a hand and the open door to the conference room slides shut. Then he turns to his inner circle. "Well?" he asks.

Media savvy Cesi Flick speaks first. "He's overreacting. Rey didn't do a bad job. She just did a different job than they planned on. Look, these PR people think packaging is everything. It's not. But it's what the media expects. Canned responses to stupid questions. The media doesn't know what to do when they are faced with someone unexpected. When someone doesn't follow all their unwritten rules."

Her Chancellor husband agrees. Nestor Flick has been a politician for years now, so he knows a thing or two about public perceptions. "The media has a blindspot for anything concerning the Rim. They have a Core bias and that's why they will never get Rey. It's like how they still don't really get the First Order. We were the angry backlash reform movement they never saw coming because they were too busy yapping amongst themselves in their politically correct jargon. Wringing their hands infighting over meaningless issues while the galaxy languished. They are still doing it, Kylo. Tonight, Rey talks about growing up starving on Jakku and that interview lady shifts the topic because it's not what she wants to discuss. It's what the Core has been doing for generations now—ignoring real problems to focus on what matters most to them."

His wife nods. "Rey has Core politics and a Core accent but with a Mid Rim look and an Outer Rim hard luck story. There is something here for everyone to relate to. And it's authentically Rey. That matters because she's not going to do this any other way. And so what if the media can't sum her up in five words? Rey doesn't fit a mold and that's a good thing. She's a complex, independent and substantive woman."

Cesi Flick herself has plenty of substance and a healthy dose of self-awareness too. "Look, as long as I'm around to check the box of fancy aspirational role model First Lady, Rey can be who she wants to be. Plus, Rey will have street cred with the First Order true believers and that counts for something. Her Cinderella scavenger to Empress story is adorable. And if the Core media ridicules her, then so be it. We can definitely play that in our favor. She'll be the underdog, downtrodden Rim girl who we portray as the victim of the press." Cesi warms to this theme. "Our Empress is scrappy and tough like the rest of the Rim. Tough enough to publicly stare down first Kylo Ren and then the press at her kid's school."

"What about the politics?" Kylo asks.

Milo fields this question. "People will certainly be talking about it," he states the obvious. "But anyone who thinks critically will be focused less on what it says about Rey and more on what it says about you, Master. Because the fact that you allow this open discussion of ideas from your own wife speaks to your open mindedness and tolerance. Whether or not you accept her ideas, the mere fact that those ideas are seriously discussed by someone highly placed is meaningful. The Empress could quickly become a mouthpiece for political dissent." Milo is less alarmed by this prospect than impressed. "That is the goal, is it not?" he realizes. As always, Snoke's favorite henchman is very astute. And he knows the ways of the manipulative Sith. "You are keeping your political friends close and your political opponents even closer, yes?"

"Yes. In this case, right next door. This is a means to organize and control the dissent. It also gives Rey a meaningful public role. And it lets her be herself as Empress. She'll never be you, Cesi. We all know that. So I need you to keep doing and being everything that you are," Kylo instructs.

"You hoped Rey would do this all along . . . " Cesi Flick understands. "You're not angry at all."

Kylo nods. "Not in the least." Rey couldn't fail tonight. Either she made the PR and the press people happy and rehabbed her initial impressions, or she made him happy and doubled down on her initial impressions. Either way, Kylo was prepared to embrace it. Because he has long wanted Rey for his Empress. Right now, he'll take what he can get.

Cesi Flick grins. "Okay, I'll go on the shows tomorrow morning. I will plan to talk all about my friend Rey. The press will want to create the appearance of friction between us. They love to pit women against other women to make things a popularity contest. I want to prevent that. The galaxy needs to see that the Upper Level First Lady can work well with the Outer Rim Empress. Two women from different worlds brought together by the First Order to be friends. It's a message of unity. Of bridging differences," she thinks aloud.

"Good," Kylo approves. He knows that this situation is going to evolve and play out over time as Rey takes her place in the public eye. But he likes this preliminary plan for now. He grabs for his mask and heads for the exit. "Come. Let's go deliver the bad news next door that they are stuck with Rey."

As he stomps into the adjacent conference room a dozen pairs of eyes widen and all conversation ceases as everyone stands. Kylo crosses his arms and asks the same question of this group as he had of his inner circle. "Well?"

"I-I can fix this, E-Excellency—" his PR chief begins. "We will just ignore the politics and the Force stuff and double down on the fluff. There is definitely material we can use here like that story of how you met—"

"Don't say I didn't warn you." The voice interrupting is Rey's and it comes from the open doorway behind him. Kylo whirls to find his Empress glaring resentfully up at him before her eyes canvass the room and return back to him. "I told you years ago I wasn't cut out to be an Empress."

Kylo nods. "I knew what I was getting myself into tonight, Rey."

"Did you?" She looks skeptical. "Because they certainly did not." Rey gestures to the group of PR hacks who had been trashing her only moments ago.

"They don't know you like I do. This is the role I hoped you would play."

Rey raises an eyebrow. "The loyal opposition?"

"Yes. I told you that I want an equal. Not a puppet."

"You could never make me your puppet," Rey scoffs, lifting her chin. It's a very Empress-like comment. And it's not precisely true. Empire Day had revealed that one threat to Titus will make this woman do anything he asks. But that's not Kylo's preferred tactic just now. "Good job tonight, Rey," he commends her before everyone.

She looks almost amused. "Really?"

"Yes. I'm serious. Now don't go reading the holonet. Don't let the haters spoil you. What they think doesn't matter."

"That's not what these guys tell me." Again, Rey gestures to the scared looking PR team who are still standing in honor of their Emperor and Empress, even if one and all is quaking with fear.

"All that matters is what I think. My Empress is accountable only to me. And I think you were perfect. Thank you for doing this, Rey. Next time will be easier."

"Next time?" the PR chief echoes with a gulp.

"Yes. Next time." Kylo smiles behind his mask.

At breakfast the next day, the screen on the wall plays the live holonet newsfeed. Cesi Flick is being interviewed about her wartime days living with Rey, three kids and her widowed father on a First Order refugee compound. Lady Flick shows old snaps of Rey with the much younger Flick girls crawling on her lap. She reminisces about how Rey would dress up as a princess and wait alone in the early morning on the compound landing pad to be whisked away to Snoke's bunker. Only to return later that night and change back into yoga pants. She was an everyday princess back then and she's an everyday Empress now, Cesi confides. Lady Flick smiles as she recounts how her Chancellor husband and the Emperor-then the First and Second Knights of Ren—would arrive unannounced back home for quick visits. Back then, the Flicks and the Rens were like the rest of the families on the compound with loved ones deployed. Scared for the future and hoping for the best. Trying to hold it together on the homefront for the better days they dreamed lay ahead.

I'm so delighted that Rey is back in my life. Cesi Flick is ruthlessly upbeat and she can put a happy face on almost anything. Things were getting a bit routine around the palace, she says with a mischievous smile. But now Rey is here to shake things up. We are going to love it, the First Lady gushes. The Empress certainly is unexpected, the still somewhat skeptical holonet host observes. Yes, but in the best way, tastemaker Cesi Flick decrees.

And now the morning show host bravely raises the topic of Empire Day. Cesi nods patiently as the woman dances around a question about how any of this makes sense given Emperor Ren almost executed his wife last month. Oh, Cesi says breezily with a wave of her hand, that's just them being them. The Emperor and Empress can both tend to be a bit dramatic. They are two sides of the same coin. At this reveal, the emboldened host follows up. But didn't he put her in jail for over thirteen years? Cesi shrugs. Have you done the math on their son? That jail cell hasn't been completely solitary, Lady Flick says with an audacious wink.

Sitting next to him watching, Rey drops her fork. It clatters loudly to the floor.

Cesi keeps going as she leans forward to provide the punchline that will dominate the next news cycle. Don't be fooled. Kylo Ren adores his wife. Always has, always will. Those two fight with words and swords and the Force. Sometimes they were on the same side of the war, and sometimes they were on opposite sides. Sometimes they are together, sometimes they are apart. That's just Kylo and Rey. I've given up trying to understand it, Cesi shakes her head. But whatever happens—and A LOT has happened-deep down they are crazy for one another. Then Cesi smiles broadly into the camera and declares it to be true love.

And now it's Kylo's turn to react. He is mid sip of hot caf for these last words. His hand jerks and his cup slips and it spills all over him. "Fuck!" he complains as he stands dripping from chin to chest.

As he is mopping himself up with a napkin, Milo and Vanee exchange glances. His son looks intrigued. But Rey just looks away.


	30. Chapter 30

"Oh, good. You're back." The next morning Cesi Flick is waiting impatiently for Rey on the landing platform as she pulls up the speeder after dropping Titus at school. "You've been ignoring my coms," Cesi accuses and it's clear this is a very rare occurrence for the much sought after First Lady of the galaxy.

"Are we talking? I'm not sure we're talking," Rey snarls back. She starts to walk briskly into the palace and determined Cesi keeps the pace.

"Oh, don't be that way," Lady Flick complains. "If this is about yesterday, it was just a PR interview. It's standard procedure to have a palace surrogate show up on the talk show circuit the morning after a big piece of news drops."

Rey stops and whirls to confront her friend. "It's true love?" she mimics yesterday's headline news. "Sure, Kylo almost murdered me and he's been keeping me in a cell under the palace but it's all good because that's just us being us. We're the Skywalkers and this is how we do things." Rey throws her hands up in heated exasperation. "No, we are definitely not talking," she decides. Then Rey resumes her march inside.

Cesi hurries to keep up. "Calm down, Rey. You're taking this all wrong-"

"Am I? Because what was that innuendo about me sleeping with Kylo in a prison cell? How desperate does that make me look?"

"It's romantic!" Cesi objects. "Look the PR guys wanted me to play up the love story angle. You are the star-crossed lovers of the First Order. Against all odds, you're still together despite a war, prison, and the Force. You cut Kylo's hand off and he still loves you. Kylo puts you in a cell and you still love him—"

"Stop! Just stop! That's enough convenient lies for today!" Rey is through discussing this. Ever since she met the Skywalker clan, her life has been a web of lies. And then she was forced to live another set of lies with Cade and the girls just to escape them. Now it seems those lies have evolved even further into a pretend marriage and so much more. If this keeps up, Rey is going to start believing them like everyone else.

"You wouldn't be half as upset about this if it weren't the truth," Cesi observes coolly.

And now the angry retort Rey is ready to fire off sticks in her lips. She stands there a moment speechless. Then for the first time Rey realizes that they have an audience. As usual, Cesi has an impeccably dressed young woman holding a datapad trailing in her wake. "Who are you?" Rey demands.

Cesi answers for her. "You remember Laurel, right? Laurel helped us on Empire Day. She's your new assistant."

This is not welcome news. "I don't need an assistant," Rey growls.

Cesi ignores this. Imperious Lady Flick is very good at ignoring refusals of all kinds. "Laurel will handle your daily schedule. She is trustworthy and very organized. You should feel free to ask her to help in any way. She will even run personal errands for you. You want caf, she fetches caf. You want to speak to a particular Senator, she fetches the Senator. Let Laurel do the process and grunt work of your life. Laurel will be the liaison to my office as well."

"Hello Laurel," Rey doesn't want to be impolite. But she's far from enthusiastic. "Sorry to do this on our first day, but you're fired, Laurel." Then she turns back to Cesi. "I have no need for an assistant. I run my own errands and I don't have a schedule."

"Yes, you do," her friend counters. "First, you drop off Titus. Then you are the Empress during the school day. You pick up Titus in the afternoon and spend time with him and do the Jedi stuff. Next comes dinner and family Force time unless you have an official event that night. That is your schedule."

"If it's so straightforward, then why do I need someone to manage it other than me?" Rey wants to know.

"Because for about six hours a day, you will serve the galaxy as Empress. And Laurel and I intend to keep you busy."

"Cesi—"

"Just hear me out. Walk with me to my office," Cesi instructs. "You can scream at me some more there in private."

"Okay." That sounds good to Rey. Because she's not done yet. She glares at her unrepentant friend.

And that small acquiescence is just the encouragement Lady Flick needs. She starts rattling off information as she sweeps down the hall. Now Rey is the one running to keep up. "Your schedule is getting fuller starting today. Each Monday morning we will have our weekly palace staff meeting with Vanee. We are moving it back half an hour so you will be back from carpool in time to participate. Typically, we go over the events for the upcoming week. Laurel and I will help you choose two or three events to attend. Whatever interests you, Rey."

"No, thanks."

"You don't have to do any of the work for the events. The palace staff and I do that with Vanee. All you have to do is show up, greet people, and make small talk. You can stay ten minutes at an event and then we will make up an excuse for you to leave early."

Being on display before all those strangers sounds awful to Rey. "I don't like parties. You know that. And I don't care about menus, flower arrangements, and place settings," she gripes. On Kuat in her Mrs. Cade Biggs days, Rey had ample opportunity to sit on gala committees. After suffering through that experience once or twice, Rey had known to run the other way. She will gladly write a check to support a worthy cause, but she will never again sit in a room full of women talking about seating charts. Not because that sort of thing isn't important, but because Rey isn't very good at it and it doesn't interest her. She is a woman with a logical, mechanical mind. She knows she lacks artistic flair and, well, social niceties are not her thing.

They are in an elevator now and, luckily, it's just Rey, Cesi and Laurel inside. Cesi shoots Rey a frank look. "This is a job. No one said it would be fun all the time, Empress. But you should at least know what's going on at the palace. The best way to do that is to attend the weekly meeting."

"Cesi—"

"If you want, we can limit you to matters pertaining exclusively to education and children," Lady Flick starts negotiating now. "We can start there and start slow. But if you want to make your influence felt as Empress, then you need to have a public and visible presence in the palace. There is a lot of power in the optics, Rey. It matters where you show up and who's there with you." Cesi gives her a pointed look now. "You should not limit yourself to influence in private with Kylo. You can be so much more, Rey."

"I'm still mad."

"But are you listening? Are you getting any of this?"

"Yes. I mean, no. Maybe . . . "

Seeing that she has scored a hit, Cesi Flick moves on. "Milo wants you on the throne again for a few hours each week. It will be the ceremonial stuff you did during the war. Also, it would be nice if you would drop by in the throne room for five minutes on Wednesday mornings to greet the children. The palace hosts tour groups for school kids on Wednesdays. Drop by and say hello and take some pictures. Laurel will put it on your calendar. It's a quick in and out. Ten minutes tops."

"Wait—where are we?" Now they are deep in the business section of the palace and Rey is lost. The palace is supposed to be her home but it's gigantic and these stately official areas all look the same to her eyes. "I thought we were going to your office so I can yell at you some more."

"This is the palace administrative wing. This is your office." Cesi gestures to a door. "Vanee's office is across the hall. Mine is next door and adjoins yours." Lady Flick turns to the silent young assistant beside her. "Laurel, did you bring the key?" Rey doesn't wait for a key, she just waves a hand and the door opens with the Force. "Okay, well that works too," Cesi grins.

Then she ushers their trio inside and starts showing Rey around a spacious office with a spectacular view. "Vanee kicked out the palace administrator whose office this was. He had the usual stuff. But we can redecorate however you wish." Lady Flick surveys the furnishings with a critical eye. She's unimpressed. "You'll be using this office for private meetings. That way you can keep the personal quarters of your home truly personal." Cesi makes a face as she reaches to fluff a tired looking sofa pillow and finds a stain. "Yes," she decides, "This office could really use an upgrade. It doesn't really say galactic Empress. I'll mention it to Vanee and he will get someone on it. They will bring their suggested selections to you for approval, of course. I'll make sure they get some important art too. These walls look a bit bare."

Rey hadn't noticed. She's still mad.

"There is an alcove with a desk for Laurel over there. Here is the connecting door to my office." Cesi depresses the door mechanism and it whooshes open to a super sleek, all white and chrome workspace that is very Lady Flick. Cesi steps inside. "Well," she grins and gestures expansively. "Let me have it, Rey. Tell me off."

"I . . . er . . . usually do the silent treatment," Rey admits sheepishly. Then she has to begrudgingly admit, "This is a beautiful office."

Her friend smiles at the praise. "I ended up at the palace so often for meetings with Vanee that he gave me my own office years ago. He was so sweet, Rey. He knew that I often end up going straight to official receptions so he outfitted my office with a small dressing room and private bath. I can take a meeting and then walk next door and be black tie ready in half an hour. It saves me the trip home and back at rush hour."

"That's very Vanee," Rey observes, thinking of the man who had smuggled things like plants into her jail cell. Vader's old servant is conscientious in small but important ways.

"There is a grooming droid back there." Cesi waves in the direction of the far wall. "Feel free to use it for touchups. Around this part of the palace, you should assume that you are on camera at all times. There is usually a lot going on. You never know who you will pass in the hallway."

"So I'm supposed to be here every day?" Rey starts walking back into the office she's supposed to call her own. She's wondering exactly how much work this Empress gig entails.

"Rey, you can do as much or as little as you wish," Cesi knows to soft-pedal things. "I myself am here four days a week all day. Five nights a week I attend official events. But no one expects you to keep that schedule, Rey. Don't worry. I know that your priorities are Titus and the Force. This stuff comes second." Cesi must see the reluctance on her face because she looks Rey in the eye. "I promise not to overwhelm you. If you are feeling overwhelmed, you should let me know. Don't be shy."

Actually, Rey is feeling a bit overwhelmed right now, but she says nothing. She just follows Cesi across the hall to a large conference room with Vanee sitting at the head of the table. At their approach, everyone stands. Old Vanee is grinning ear to ear, she notices.

Cesi keeps narrating as she goes. "Okay, so this is Vanee's conference room where we host most meetings. There's another smaller one next door. This is the core event staff for the palace." Cesi goes around the table introducing a chief protocol officer who looks suitably prissy, the palace social secretary who looks suitably smiley, the head of in-house catering, a military guy who is head of palace security, some stern looking woman who holds the title director of special events, and three young, pretty assistants who Cesi collectively refers to as 'her girls.' "We are meeting this morning about the upcoming convocation of the new Senate. It's just minor tweaks from what we have done in prior years."

Rey now learns that the newly elected first term Senators will be presented individually to the Emperor in his throne room to swear a public oath of loyalty. Then Senate Chancellor Flick will welcome them as the newest Senators of the Empire and ceremonially convene the entire Senate for some feel good unanimous resolution. Afterwards, there is a reception at the palace. Rey soon learns that no matter what happens at the Senate or the palace, there is inevitably a reception that follows. These politician types love to schmooze.

"The opening of the new Senate session is a big deal and will generate a lot of press. Being the democratic heroine that you are," Cesi winks at her, "you should plan to attend. Laurel, please put that on the schedule." Then, the trio of women retreat from the meeting they have interrupted. "For events like the Senate convocation you should appear as the Empress, not as mom," Cesi says with a raised eyebrow at Rey's current attire. Indeed, everyone around Rey is wearing formal daytime attire except Vanee who always looks like he's ready to conjure long dead spirits of the Sith. Suddenly, Rey feels underdressed in her simple tunic, culottes and boots.

"Got it," Rey dutifully responds.

"Look, the rest of the time, you do you, Rey," Cesi assures her. But then in the same breath she instructs Laurel, "Call around to get us a selection of day gowns for the Empress. Just for fun, let's see if there is anything you like, Rey. If so, you will have the option available if you decide to smarten up a bit some days."

"You are incorrigible, Cesi," Rey calls her on this not so subtle hint.

Lady Flick is undeterred. "Standards, Rey. An Empress has standards. Look, I'm not trying to ruin that whole mom-on-the-go thing you've got going on. It's working for you. But there is a time and a place for everything. Casual is ok for days like today, but not when you're sitting on Kylo's throne. And if you dare show up around here in flipflops and yoga pants, be forewarned that I am sending you home to change."

"This is my home," Rey points out.

"Your home is many floors and several security checks away, Rey. And it will be a long, hard fashion walk of shame back there, trust me. Now, does my lipstick look okay?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because we are about to get a bit more public. Laurel, why don't you go make those calls. Rey, come with me." Again, Rey follows in Cesi's wake down an elevator and down a corridor. "This leads to the Senate building. You will be there now and then I'm sure for receptions. And maybe you will want to make an appearance at an Education committee meeting someday. But we can discuss that later. For now, you should know that when you walk out of the palace next door to the Senate, things get a whole lot less private. The press walks freely around the Senate building and in some areas the public does too. So when we walk through those doors, we will be immediately on display. In time, you may be able to use that to your advantage."

"Okay, so why are we going there now?" Rey asks. "Because I still need to yell at you."

Cesi has another idea. "Let's do the silent treatment you mentioned, Rey. You can be silent while I talk. Got it?"

"You can't be serious—"

"I am. Look, the learning curve on all this is steep and it starts now. I have learned a few things in my time as First Lady so let me share what I know so you won't make the same mistakes I did." Rey shoots her another glare that Cesi again ignores. "We are going to the Senate to be seen," she explains. "The Empress and Lady Flick are indeed the true friends they purport to be. And here you are looking all regular mom just back from dropping off kids. It's perfect. We're going to grab a quick cup of caf at the Senate coffee bar where the press likes to hang out. Accessibility is your thing, right? Let's go hang with the riffraff."

"The Senate has a coffee bar?" Who knew?

"Of course. Nestor says all that boring lawmaking requires lots of caffeination. Probably stim shots sometimes too. The Coruscant Underworld might live on spice but the Coruscant Upper Level lives on caf."

Two minutes later, she and Cesi are tucked away in a corner with all sorts of eyes surreptitiously watching them. "I feel like we are being watched."

Cesi laughs. "That's because we are." Then her face gets serious. "Rey, I know you're not very keen on this whole Empress gig. But we will find a way to make it enjoyable and make it your own. I truly do believe that in time you are going to end up excelling at this."

Rey frowns. "What makes you think that? Because I've bombed every other thing I've done as Empress. Look—I read the holonet. It's not just hater trolls who criticize me. It's everyone in the legitimate press. I'm criticized for everything from what I look like, to what I say, to who I am. It's a lot . . . a lot . . . "

Cesi Flick who projects an uber-confidence at all times lets a little of her Type A queen bee guard down. "I know, Rey. Trust me. I know." Cesi takes a long sip of her caf before she continues. "Men in the public eye get criticized for what they do and what they say. But with women, it's different. It's so much more personal. It's about how you look and who you are. And it has this weird tone of scorn that men just don't receive. Don't think I don't have my own share of holonet haters, Rey. I'm the Upper Level princess daughter of a New Republic Senator. I might be married to Nestor, but there are plenty in the First Order who view me as belonging to the elitist Core culture they disdain. And, quite frankly, they're right."

"And I'm the Rim trash Empress who wanders around Coruscant gaping at everything like some Jakku hayseed. Yeah . . . I've read it," Rey says glumly.

Cesi brushes this off. "You are Sheev Palpatine's great-granddaughter and you're from the worst of the Rim. Your First Order credentials are good, Rey. And they need to be good given all your Jedi and war reconciliation talk. But if we handle it right, you could be a great unifying figure. Because if the Resistance girl and the First Order leader can be married, then surely the rest of the galaxy can find a way to get along. You might have an elite heritage and the Force, but you have a very ordinary background. Look, your story is amazing in its extremes, Rey. If we can find a way to tell the highlights of your past the right way, it should resonate with people across the usual political and social divisions. That's what leaders do-they bring people together."

"But for what purpose?" Rey protests. "Cesi, I've never been a very political person-"

"Do it for any purpose you want. For education reform. Or for taxation of trade routes to the Outer Rim. Or whatever," Cesi shrugs. "The power is yours to use as you wish."

"Now you sound like Kylo," Rey grumbles. She eyes her friend over the rim of her cup. "I'm still mad at you. I can't believe you said that yesterday."

Cesi's face softens. For the first time, she looks contrite. Sort of. "I didn't say it to upset you, Rey. I said it to help you. Look after all the dust settled, I had a long talk with the PR chief last night. We agreed that the galaxy needs to have a way to make sense of what they saw on Empire Day. They need to know why you were there and why you were spared. Now they have their answer: it was a lovers' quarrel writ large." Cesi smiles knowingly as she observes, "You Skywalkers never do anything half way, do you?"

"He was never going to kill me," Rey says softly.

"How do you know that?" Cesi challenges.

"I just do." Rey looks up to see her friend looking smug now. She has just proven Cesi's point. So Rey counters, "Look, just because he wasn't going to kill me doesn't mean he loves me."

"Right." Cesi is unconvinced. Then she moves on past their quarrel. "Rey, I'm on your side. I want you to be happy. We will find a way to do this Empress thing that makes you happy. I just need you to try a little. It's going to push you out of your comfort zone," Cesi warns. "But that can be a good thing sometimes. And if we need to reel it back a bit, we can. I'm good with baby steps."

"Okay . . . "

Lady Flick is satisfied. And now again, she's ready to move on. She's a busy woman and she doesn't linger at anything. "Are you done? I've got to get to a meeting. Drink up, Rey."

Rey nods suddenly there is a man at their table side. "Hello Lady Flick, your assistant mentioned I might find you here."

Rey looks up in surprise at a good-looking man with a full beard and a leonine head of brown hair that reminds her of Kylo. The man is dressed very formally. "Senator, what a nice surprise." Cesi gives a pro forma smile that never reaches her eyes. "Were you looking for me?"

"No, I was looking for this lady." The man steps back to favor Rey with a formal, courtly bow. "Your Excellency, I have been hoping to meet you." He smiles and looks to Cesi expectantly.

Cesi dutifully does the introductions. "Empress, this is Senator Stegger. He represents Coruscant." And that's Lady Flick's version of being damned with faint praise, Rey instantly recognizes. For Cesi Flick is not usually this curt when it comes to connecting new people.

"Aren't you a little young for a Senator?" Rey asks this bold man. He can't be more than forty, if that. Following Cesi's lead, Rey gives him the coolly appraising look she once used on rival scavengers. But if Senator Stegger is intimidated, it doesn't show.

"I am the junior Senator," he explains with an easy smile that crinkles his eyes. Then he gets right to the point. "Empress, I was much impressed with your interview earlier this week. Especially your ideas about unsealing records for detainees."

Rey flashes a genuine smile at this. It totally undercuts her earlier stance. But it's nice to hear something good about that interview when everything she has read has been so uniformly bad. "Thank you, Senator." Rey feels herself blush.

"That issue is of particular importance for many of my constituents," he explains. "We had far more detainees on Coruscant than on other Core worlds. It's time that people know the truth. It's important that people know the truth."

Rey agrees. "Truth matters," she says softly, thinking of herself.

He nods. "Empress, I'd like to hear more about your ideas and share some of my own. I think that we might have much in common. May I have my office contact yours to set up a meeting?"

"Yes," Rey makes a snap decision. "I'd like that."

"Excellent. I look forward to it." Stegger is smooth as he nods to Cesi, "Always a pleasure, Lady Flick. Please give my best regards to the Chancellor." Then again, he bows deeply to Rey before he takes his leave. "Empress."

As soon as he walks away, Cesi hisses, "Don't take that meeting. You'll end up back in a cell."

"What do you mean?" Rey eyes her friend.

"Stay away from Stegger. He's more than just the opposition. Nestor says he's dangerous."

"Really? Why?" Rey considers the retreating figure of Senator Stegger. He has stopped twice on his way out to shake hands with an acquaintance. The body language is the slick charm of a practiced politician. And normally, that would be a turn off for Rey. "He did seem rather bold. He reminded me of Kylo."

Cesi gives her a pointed look and her tone is serious. "I don't know the details, Rey. But Nestor doesn't say things like that lightly. You need to ask Kylo."

"I like his beard," Rey observes for no reason. She's still watching the Senator depart. "He's very handsome."

"I hadn't noticed. And you shouldn't either."

Rey laughs. Because she knows Cesi Flick well enough to know that she has noticed. "Liar," Rey accuses under her breath as they walk out together.

And now their easy longtime girlfriends rapport is back. Heads turn to take note of the Empress and Lady Flick giggling like schoolgirls. It's just the sort of public statement Lady Flick had intended all along from this coffee break. "Okay, he's cute," Lady Flick allows under her breath. "But only if you like all that hair. I've never liked men with a lot of hair."

"Is that why Nestor is buzzed and cleanshaven?" Rey teases.

"Naturally." Cesi Flick gets what Cesi Flick wants, of course. Especially where Nestor Flick is concerned. "Are we good now, Rey?" Cesi asks hopefully. "I truly was trying to help yesterday during the interview. But I went too far. I see that. I never meant to embarrass you. Nestor met with Kylo yesterday afternoon about something and he didn't come home saying Kylo was mad, so I guess I figured you were fine with that public gloss on the situation too. You'll learn soon what around the palace there can be a wide disparity between reality and the public's perception of things."

Yes, she knows. But Rey nods. "Yeah . . . we're good. But in the future, let me talk for myself in public when it comes to my marriage. Kylo and I are complicated enough as is." She shoots her friend a stern look. "No more meddling, Cesi."

"It was not meddling, it was following the PR chief's wishes," Cesi maintains. And Force or no Force, Rey of Jakku knows a lie when she hears it. But she lets it slide.

She and Cesi are walking back together when they come upon a crowd of school children marching in two straight rows down the stairs. "It's Wednesday," Cesi smiles over at them and waves. Then she turns to Rey. "Come on. This is the best part of every Wednesday." Cesi Flick marches to the head of the group and calls out a big cheery "Hello, everyone." Then Lady Flick starts shaking hands with the teachers and moms in attendance. Everyone is so starstruck that no one notices Empress Rey standing off to the side. Simply dressed, Rey blends in unlike the grand First Lady in her boldly colored designer day gown and classic chignon.

The children are young-maybe six or seven. It's still an age with a short attention span and so finally a bored and fidgety kid looks her way. One kid elbows another after another while the adults are all preoccupied with Lady Flick. "It's her," Rey overhears a child say as he points right at her. Yes, she has been recognized. Most of the children look openly curious but a few are clearly scared. One little girl yelps and starts to run away in terror. She plows into a classmate and they bump heads hard and go down in a heap. Then, there are tears. That gets the adults' attention.

Great, Rey thinks. Another Empress fail. Because now she is the bogeyman who frightens little children.

Feeling responsible, Rey walks over to kneel beside the little girl and her friend. "There's no need to be afraid," Rey says gently as she helps the two girls to their feet. "I won't hurt you." The soft words do nothing to reassure, unfortunately. Rey is chagrined to know that she is perceived this way. "You're bleeding." One little girl has a bloody lip from the collision. And it's trembling now too as her eyes brim with tears. "It's just a scratch but we should get a tissue for it," Rey suggests. One of the moms along for the field trip timidly hands Rey a tissue from her purse. But Rey thinks better of it. "Let's try something else," she says impulsively.

Rey summons the Force. With a moment of intense concentration, Rey recalls the specifics of the three healing holochrons she has watched. Doing her best to improvise based on those teachings, Rey drags her finger along the swollen scratch.

It disappears at her touch. Rey is amazed and excited. She sucks in a gasp at what she has done. Wait until Titus sees this.

The little girl doesn't seem to notice. But the mom with the tissue handy does. The woman takes a long and quick step back. "That was t-the F-Force," she guesses fearfully.

"Yes," Rey nods with a smile. She straightens the little girl's pinafore and pats her cheek. "All better now."

As Rey stands, she becomes aware that she and the little girl are the only ones on their feet. Everyone in sight, children included, are kneeling. And really, this is too much. "Oh, get up everyone," Rey grumbles. "It's cold and dirty on the floor."

No one disobeys an Empress who just used the Force. But now everyone is standing staring expectantly at her. No one is asking for pictures and shaking hands like with friendly First Lady Cesi Flick. But Rey surmises that she's clearly supposed to do something all the same. So she takes a deep breath. "Welcome to the palace," she begins. "I live here. What do you think of my home?"

"It's big," a boy says after a moment's awkward pause.

"Yes. Anything else?"

"It's fancy," another kid calls out.

"Yes."

"Are you going to kill any droids today?" the little girl she helped wants to know.

"No."

Then a small voice asks the question apparently everyone has on their mind: "Is the Emperor going to cut your head off with his sword?"

"No," Rey says emphatically. She looks up to catch one of the teacher's eyes and realizes that Cesi Flick was right. The public does need to have a way to make sense of what they saw between her and Kylo on Empire Day. Rey gives the alarmed teacher a tepid smile. Now desperate to change the topic, Rey asks, "Where are you headed next?" She directs this question to the liveried palace tour guide who accompanies the group. The last stop is the throne room, he answers. Rey nods and invites herself along. "Mind if I go too?"

* * *

It is late when Kylo finally gets back after his day trip to Corellia. The landing platform is quiet at this hour and there are only droids and guards in the hallways. Everyone else has gone home for the day to be with their family. But this is his home and this is where his family is. And yet, Emperor Ren is more alone here at night than at any other time of the day.

Rey is next door awake still when Kylo tromps into his room. He tears off his mask and throws down his sword. Next, off come the gloves and cape. Then the uniform and boots. He's wandering around barefoot and shirtless in sleep pants now looking for something to do. He's done with work for today and bored by what's on the holonet. His body is tired but his mind is too keyed up to sleep. So Kylo does what he always does when he feels listless and alone. He wanders to meditate before his grandfather's mask.

Next door, he senses Rey too find the Force. This is her habit most nights as she winds down to sleep. Rey drifts in meditation like his uncle had taught her long ago. She floats there in the Force for a few minutes until she falls asleep. This is the best part of his day and the worst part of his day. Rey alone in bed in the Light. Comforting him with her proximity, but tempting him too. For in her pleasure is all the salvation his Dark soul needs. In her kiss is all the love his rejected heart wants. In her arms is all the release his body craves. Everything is there for the taking, but he doesn't want to take it. He's learned that lesson from their tryst in the cell. Because sometimes being the aggressor doesn't get you what you need even if it gets you what you think you want. In his fantasies, Rey does more than just acquiesce to his advances. She wants him back with equal passion.

And therein lies the problem. He is a Sith Master and to seduce is his calling. He can exploit beings with ease now and control at whim. All except this woman. For all his Dark arts fail him where Rey is concerned. He's always been weak for her. Unable to predict and manipulate her. Frustrated and repeatedly humbled by her. Kylo might be the Emperor of the galaxy, but he has met his match in the lowly scavenger Rey of Jakku. Bitter, angry, mama bear Rey. Beautiful, valiant, strong Rey. Lonely, neglected, insecure Rey. She is all of these things and more. In her own way, his Empress is as complex, compelling and conflicted as he is. They are a matched pair, far more alike than either would care to admit.

Fuck . . . he has to stop doing this to himself. Kylo drags his mind away from his regrets. It can be hard to stay focused with Rey next door. Resolutely, Kylo channels all that diffuse longing into his meditation. Show me again the power of the Darkness, he thinks as he reaches to touch what's left of Darth Vader's mask. Kylo lets the Shadow Force flood his mind now. He will steep himself in the Dark Side, hoping to receive a vision from this cherished relic tonight.

But he can't quiet his mind long enough to commune with the past. There will be no revelations and guidance tonight. In frustration, Kylo shoots to his feet and rambles away. Shaken again from how hard it is to keep his longing for Rey at bay. She creeps into everything when he lets his guard down. And so he wanders his suite pounding a drink to relax. The alcohol doesn't work. Sensing futility, Kylo gives up and reaches for his drug of choice-the Light. Shamelessly burying his mind in the reflected glory of Rey's Force imprint. Seeking to leech some of her peace.

But tonight, the Light does not bring calm. It is panicky and frantic. Fearful and on edge.

Something is wrong.

Kylo runs a hand through his mussed hair, wondering what to do. But the urgency of the sensation keeps building. This is not imminent physical danger but it is severe trauma all the same. Suddenly, Kylo too is stressed and concerned. Feeling he needs to do something. Anything. He is an emotional Sith and he feeds off Rey's sharp emotions emanating in the Force.

Kylo stares long and hard at the connecting door to Rey's room. Wondering what to do. Impulsively, he throws caution to the wind. He's always impulsive where Rey is concerned. The door whooshes open with enough noise to wake her in the old days. Life on dangerous Jakku had made Rey a very light sleeper. But not anymore, it seems. Life with Cade Biggs must have lulled her into lowering her defenses. As Kylo pads into her room on bare feet, Rey remains lost in her nightmare.

It's a dream, he sees with relief. It's nothing more than a bad dream.

"Rey?" he calls out softly. There is no answer. Rey's mind is elsewhere. He sees that she is thrashing a little. Her face contorted as she starts moaning out incoherent words. The words his ears cannot make out are crystal clear to his mind, however. For such is Rey's panic that her screams are very clear in the Force. _Come back!_ _Come back!_ Kylo cannot see the details of her dream without invading her mind, but her emotions are laid bare in the Force. She is abandoned. Scared. Alone.

Fuck. It's Jakku. With Rey, it's always Jakku.

He stands there a moment in the dim light filtering through from the open doorway. Not wanting to scare her further. But not wanting her distress to continue. Uncertain what to do. He shouldn't be here, after all. She wouldn't like it and he can't handle this. Plus, he's supposed to be untangling himself emotionally. Moving on. But after another long moment of indecision watching her terror, Kylo gives in to his weakness. Telling himself that Rey needs help and that makes this okay.

He stands beside her bed and again calls her name. "Rey . . . Rey, wake up . . ." Then he repeats himself louder still. But he cannot make himself heard through her foggy consciousness. She's facing away from him when he rests a heavy hand on her shoulder and tries again. "Rey . . . Rey, wake up." But her frenetic movements push him away. Now, what? He's going to scare her even more when she wakes to find him looming over her.

So Kylo slides into bed beside her, putting a long, strong arm around her from behind. "Relax," he whispers as he pulls her close. "You're okay. It's just a dream." But Rey's body remains heaving and tense to mimic the effort in her mind. Her words so pitiful and heartbreaking as they echo in the Force. _Come back!_ _Come back!_ _Don't leave me alone!_ Is Titus hearing this? There's no way his son isn't hearing this if he's awake. "Rey, you're okay. Relax, it's just a dream," Kylo tries again.

And now, Rey's movements slow and she briefly rouses. "Cade . . . " She reaches her hand up to grope at his arm. "Cade, it was that same dream again . . . The one about . . . " She stops herself before she says Jakku. Even half awake, Rey has the presence of mind to maintain her lie. Such was the ruse she had played on that poor dupe Cade Biggs.

Kylo repeats softly, "You're okay. It was just a dream." He is pleased to see that she is calming fast. Her breath slowing. She nods a little at his words. "Go back to sleep," he whispers.

"Just a dream . . . " Rey echoes his words and closes her eyes. This is his cue to leave and Kylo starts to pull back.

She stops him. Laying a restraining hand on his arm. "Hold me," she whispers. "Cade, I don't want to be alone."

And oh, fuck. What has he gotten himself into?

Eyes closed, Rey scoots back to snuggle deeper into him. "You make me feel so safe."

Fuuuuck. Kylo doesn't want to hear this. He doesn't want to know about the man who replaced him.

"You know I love it when you hold me. . ." Rey yawns out her words as she nestles closer. And he can't help but notice how bony and thin she is still. How Jakku. "Cade, hold me . . . please . . ."

So he does. Kylo buries his face in her soft hair and inhales the remnants of her perfume. He revels in the warmth and closeness of her. And he pretends that the man she had asked for is him. That he is the one she turns to for comfort. That his name is the one she whispers in the night. That he is the man who keeps her from feeling alone.

It's not long before Rey is deeply asleep. Her breath a rhythmic cadence. Her body relaxed and soft. Kylo knows he needs to go, lest he too fall asleep. So carefully, he creeps away and climbs to his feet. Rey must sense his movement for she rolls over the moment his weight lifts from the bed. Then he's through the open door fast and back to his room with Rey none the wiser.

Kylo stands there lingering in the open doorway for a long moment. Appreciating the irony of tonight. His daydreams always have him waking his sleeping beauty next door, never lulling her back to sleep. But in this, like so many things, life with Rey is different than he expects. He knows that's part of why she is so confounding and yet beguiling still. "Goodnight. Sweet dreams," he whispers to the air. Then he waves his hand and the door slides shut. Now, he's alone again.


	31. Chapter 31

Titus is his usual sullen self as Rey pilots the speeder to school. Some mornings, prying ten words out of this kid is hard. He'll gladly talk about the Force but no other topics seem to interest him beyond a few sentences. And that worries Rey. But pushing too hard can be as counterproductive as pushing too little, so Rey relents and gives up for this morning. They are almost to school anyway.

Suddenly, Titus hollers and points, "Look, Mom! Pull over!"

Rey follows his gesture and then squints. "Is that—"

"Yes!" Titus is very excited. He turns to Rey now with a big smile and reveals, "You know, I thought I saw a girl who looked like Malia hanging around school last week—"

"Malia," Rey breathes out the name of her oldest daughter she hasn't seen in many long months. Of course, she's here in Coruscant. Malia must have started at Coruscant University in the fall.

"Pull over!" Titus orders in a voice of command that is startlingly like his father. As the speeder pulls up to the curb, he opens the door. "Hey—get in." Malia looks a bit wary at first before she ducks inside.

Rey immediately hands over the controls to the palace chauffeur Tagg while she shifts her seat to greet her daughter. "Oh, Malia, come and give me a—"

"No. Don't." The girl rears back. Her rejection is cold.

It catches Rey off guard. "Malia?" again she opens her arms for the daughter she raised from age six, first as a nanny and then as a primary custody step-mother. "Come here, Malia, give me a hug—"

"I said no!" The young girl glares at Rey. "I'm not here for you. I'm here for Titus."

"Oh." Rey nods and sits back chastised in her seat. She shouldn't be surprised by Malia's reaction, but it hurts all the same.

Malia turns to embrace her brother. And it's encouraging for Rey to see her normally standoffish son be so demonstrative for his sister. It brings home to her just how happy Titus is in this moment. Brother and sister reunited clearly means a lot.

Malia looks Titus over like the bossy big sister she is. "I'm not supposed to talk to you. Dad says we could be killed if we talk to you. But are you okay? Titus, are you okay?"

Her boy nods with a bravado that reminds Rey of his father. "Yeah, I'm great. Gods, it's good to see you. How's Coruscant U? How are Sasha and Dad?"

Malia sees right through him. "Titus, I saw Empire Day. What have they done to you?"

He brushes off this sisterly concern. "I'm okay. Malia, it's just the Force. But I'm okay . . . yeah, I'm okay."

"But you killed people! Titus, we all saw you—"

"I had to," he interrupts defensively. "Malia, it's how we do things now. Look, I miss you and Sasha. I miss Dad too." Her son sounds so young now. "I miss our life on Kuat. When things were normal. When I was normal."

Malia looks fearfully over at Rey, as if she might bust out the Force at any moment. "Dad says that they are freaks of nature-him and her. And now they have made you one too . . . " Malia bites her bottom lip. "I'm so sorry, Titus. I know you didn't ask for any of this. Dad said that you begged to come home."

"It's okay," Titus quickly interrupts again. He sounds stoic now as he says, "This is my destiny and I cannot escape it. I was born with the Force. I was born the Emperor's son. I didn't choose it, but I can't change it, Malia."

"Oh, Titus," Rey hurts for how resigned her son sounds. Titus is speaking of his privileged life as though it were an affliction.

"It's okay," Titus is his own cheerleader now, nodding as he speaks as though he is convincing himself. "It's okay and I'm okay. And the Force can be good or bad. It's actually amazing, Malia. I never knew I had the Force-"

"Which one are you?" the girl asks sharply.

"What?"

"Are you good or bad?" Malia demands.

Titus thinks a moment. "I'm both, I hope. Or, I'm supposed to be both. I'm supposed to be the Chosen One who will bring balance to the Force."

Malia looks bewildered by this statement. Because, of course, she has no idea what it means. "Oh."

Now Rey speaks up. "Malia, how is your father?" She has wondered a great deal about Cade Biggs over the past months.

But the question earns Rey a resentful glare. "He's good. Dad was really bad there for a bit because of you. But now he and our real mom are back together and he's finally happy again. We're a family once more now that you are gone." The college girl eyes her one-time step-mother with disdain. "I guess that's thanks to your lies. It's the silver lining of all of this."

"Malia, I never meant to lie to you—" Rey begins.

"Of course, you did! You lied to protect yourself. You used us and endangered us so you could hide! I've heard Dad's explanation. I know he doesn't believe it any more than I do."

"Malia, I never meant to hurt you—"

"We were your cover right? I was never your daughter. Like dad was never your husband. He says you were married to Emperor Ren all along."

"Malia—"

"Dad might be willing to play the sell-out patriotic fool to help his business, but I'm not! You know, you get away from Kuat and the shipyards and you learn a few things about the Empire. Going to school here has really opened my eyes. I've met new friends whose families are not beholden to Kylo Ren's war machine like everyone on Kuat is. I was very naïve before on Kuat. But I know the truth about the Empire now."

Malia looks so youthful now in her determination to break free of the viewpoints of her upbringing. To question the conventional wisdom she was raised on. That's part of growing up, Rey knows, and it's part of college. But never did Rey ever imagine that her daughter would be this bitter about it. She is taken aback at this angry young woman who is so changed from the girl she knew before. And deep down, Rey suspects that she can blame herself for this vehemence. Because Malia's anger against the Empire is partly a way to express her anger against Rey.

"I've heard a lot of professors and friends tell stories . . . awful stories . . . It helped me to see through the lies that I was raised on. You were part of that lie."

"It's true. All of it," Rey sighs. "Probably everything you've heard about the war is true, Malia. And I hope that helps you understand why I was hiding."

"It doesn't! Because I saw those pictures of you playing merciful princess here during the war. Handing out toys to kids in prison camps. You were complicit the whole time!" Malia's young face contorts as she snarls out sarcasm, "Here, have a toy. Sorry my husband murdered your parents, kid! Now wait while I smile for the cameras in my zillion credit dress."

"That's not what happened-"

"You're complicit now! Look at you-you're the Empress! You walked out of our life one day without even saying goodbye. And now you're back as the Force princess wife of the tyrant war criminal Kylo Ren. Giving interviews about how excited you are to help the First Order provide free education so that more children can be brainwashed into slavery as stormtroopers—"

"Malia! That's enough!"

But the girl doesn't back down. "I'm not your daughter anymore. You don't have authority over me! How long until Dad and Sasha and I disappear mysteriously, huh? Because we know the truth that you weren't the long-suffering Empress in a cell for years. You were a dyed blonde liar pretending to be married to Dad."

Is that what this is about? Rey rushes to reassure her. "No one is going to hurt you, Malia. I promise. And no one is going to hurt Sasha or your father. If you keep quiet, everything will be fine."

"Yeah . . . that's basically the message your husband feeds the galaxy, right? Be docile and keep quiet and everything will be fine. You may have strayed a few years with the Biggs family, but you're back being one of them now, aren't you? Spouting his First Order crap like it's your own."

Rey catches Titus' eyes. He looks so confused. "Is the Master going to hurt them?" he asks of Rey.

She responds an emphatic "No. No one is going to get hurt."

Not physically, at least. But they are all so hurt inside, she knows. Rey herself is no exception. And she doesn't know how to handle all this anger. Plus, she is guilty, oh so guilty about it all. For this is the emotional wreckage that she has heaped upon those she loves. Cade and the girls were innocent of the mess of the Skywalkers, but now they too are paying the price. "I'm sorry, Malia. I truly am sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen-"

"Well, it did happen. And sorry isn't good enough!"

"-and this whole situation is far more complicated that you understand. I hate that this has happened." Rey herself is brushing back tears. "I m-miss you, Malia. You have no idea how much I miss you and your sister."

"Awww, don't cry, Mom," Titus looks upset now too.

Malia is the only one who looks composed. She looks hard, Rey realizes as she looks upon her daughter. Hard, righteous and radical. It's a zealot's confidence that Rey has seen firsthand at the Resistance and at the First Order. It scares her.

Malia turns back to her brother. "Look, Titus, I want you to know that I'm here for you. Here," she thrusts a small comlink at him. "The splicer guy I bought it off in the Underworld says it's not traceable. I don't know if that's true or not. But it's a way to reach me if you want to talk. You don't have to be one of them, Titus. There are plenty of people who don't think like they do. And one day, our time will come—"

"Malia! That's enough!" Rey is starting to get really alarmed now. Because this is not what her confused and vulnerable son needs to hear right now. There is enough conflict between Kylo and Titus without someone else egging it on.

Titus hesitates, looking down at the comlink. His sister shakes it at him. "Take it! I'll always be your sister, Titus. Even if she's not my mom. Remember that." Then Malia quickly depresses the speeder door mechanism and darts out into the street.

Titus is on her heels after her, calling "Malia—wait! Wait!" But she is gone. Melting quickly into the crowded sidewalk of Upper Level Coruscant at the peak of the morning rush hour. Rey too climbs out of the speeder now to stand by her son, staring bleakly into the passing crowd. There are hundreds of pedestrians walking briskly by. Mostly human, but plenty of other species too. Malia Biggs is nowhere to be found.

"Get in the speeder. Let's go home." Titus says this with a quiet intensity that is so like his father. His words jolt Rey out of her sad reverie. Once they both climb back inside, Titus orders, "Tagg, go home."

"Wait—what about school?" Rey objects. They are a block away from school.

"Go home, Tagg," Titus repeats his earlier command. Then he turns to inform her, "I'm going home to learn the Force. I'm skipping school today."

Rey instantly raises her voice. "You will not, young man! School is important and you're going."

"I'll only ditch my classes after you leave, Mom. You know that," her son goads.

Rey is having none of it. "I am dropping you off and you are going to school. You're not going to hide in your father's library all day. And that's final!"

And now Titus too unleashes his emotions. "Why not, Mom? Because at least in the library no one bothers me. No one whispers about me. No one points at me. I get to leave behind you and the Master and all of your drama! Plus, I can forget about missing my sisters and my Dad. The Force is so much easier than real life, Mom. This is so hard . . . can't you see that? This is so fucking hard!"

And now her son looks like he too might cry.

"I know—" Rey stammers. Oh, how she knows. Her perfect marriage and family are broken beyond repair. She feels estranged from everyone she has ever loved, be it Kylo, Titus, Cade or her girls. And that makes Rey feel terribly alone. She's out of her solitary basement cell now but she has learned that there is more than one sort of prison. And Rey seems to carry hers wherever she goes. Kylo is like this, she knows. Surrounded by people but still terribly alone. "I know—believe me, Titus, I know how hard this is—"

"No, you don't!" her boy rails. And now all of the resigned acceptance he told his sister earlier begins to crack. "I tell the Master that I don't want any of this and he doesn't care! He just says I'm a Skywalker and this is my lot in life. That he didn't get a choice either. That it's destiny. Well, fuck that!" Her boy is wiping away tears now and his face is ugly and harsh. Like Rey remembers from Empire Day. "I'm going to learn all I can about the Force and then no one will be able to tell me what to do. Not even him! I'll decide for myself what I want. I will choose my own future and make my own decisions. And if I want to talk to my sister, then I damned well will, Mom. And neither you nor the Master will stop me!"

That is a nonstarter as far as Rey is concerned. Because having experienced Malia's anti-Establishment scorn today, Rey knows that nothing good will come of brother and sister interacting further. And if this ever gets found out, then it will only endanger the Biggs family further. It's just too big a risk for all involved. "Give me that comlink, Titus."

"No."

"Give it to me! It could get your sister in a lot trouble, Titus. Think for a second about that," Rey warns.

"She's already in a lot of trouble, Mom. She and everyone else who knows your lies is in trouble. This comlink isn't what endangers her. It's us! Now, pull over and let me out."

"You're going to school?"

"Maybe. I haven't decided." Titus grabs for his backpack and wrenches the speeder door open. Rey watches in silence as he stalks away towards school. At least he's in school, Rey thinks. For now. She'll worry about that comlink later.

Ever silent Tagg pilots the speeder back to the palace because Rey is too rattled. Then when they arrive, she spends long minutes crying alone sitting in the speeder away from prying eyes. Through the window she watches Kylo and his usual entourage board his shuttle and depart for the day. Kylo strides across the landing pad with the deliberate stalking gait she knows so well, his cape lifting slightly in the morning breeze. She has no idea where he is off to today. For though they live together, she knows none of the details of his life.

This is what it means to be the wife of Kylo Ren, Rey realizes. To sit hiding as you cry in an empty speeder because you are always on public display. To frighten little children in the palace hallways so much that they want to run away. To have a son who is chafing under the pressures of his father's expectations and to have a secret estranged step-daughter who snarls at you. Everyone around her feels so broken and Rey feels broken too. She needs a new beginning, a new cause, a new friend, a new something to help her heal. Because she can't take much more of this. Plus, the dreams of Jakku are starting again. She had another one last night. Rey hasn't dreamt of Jakku in a long, long time. It's a sign of desperation, she knows, that those nightmares have come back.

Briefly, she fantasizes about firing up the speeder and making a run for it. About gunning it for the massive Coruscant Spaceport and then maxing out her credit card on a one-way ticket to nowhere. About running away from her problems once and for all time. But then she would never see her son again. And Rey of Jakku who once was abandoned herself will never abandon her own child. If nothing else, she will be here for the bitter end, whatever it may be. And so Rey dries her tears and tidies her makeup as best she can. Then she exits the speeder and heads inside. Maybe she ought to go change quickly into one of those fancy day dresses Cesi talked her into but Rey isn't in the mood. She isn't in the mood for the Monday morning palace staff meeting she's late to either. But maybe this Empress thing is what she needs to move on with her life and carve out a sphere of happiness and meaning for herself. Maybe this can be something positive in her life amid so much despair.

Minutes later, Rey is deep in the working areas of the palace with her sense of direction completely turned around. She has wandered this same hallway twice now already and she has no idea where to go. She feels rather ridiculous about this, especially when all the busy passersby are bowing and scraping in her direction. But Rey also feels rather foolish about asking one of these supplicants where to go. So she just stands there a moment. Miserable to be feeling lost and adrift personally and literally at the same time.

"Your Excellency?" It's that bold Senator Stegger from Coruscant exiting an elevator behind her. And luckily, he's alone. He marches over to perform another one of his smooth courtly bows. "Good morning," he tells her.

"Good morning." Sheepish Rey now asks for directions. "I'm lost. I'm lost in my own palace. This," Rey sighs glumly, "is not my day. And it is most definitely a Monday."

To her great relief, the Senator doesn't laugh in her face. Instead, he offers to help. "Where are you headed? Maybe I can take you there?"

Rey is ready to fall at his feet with gratitude. She smiles her relief. "The palace administration wing. I'm supposed to be at some weekly staff meeting about parties."

He nods. "Let's find it together. I'll make you a deal—if I find you your meeting, will you give me a meeting in return?"

"What meeting?" Rey asks blankly.

"The meeting to discuss missing war detainees. My scheduler has spoken twice to your assistant asking to set up a meeting. She has twice been rebuffed. Apparently, you are overbooked currently, Empress?"

Rey shrugs. "Maybe. I have no idea. I try to avoid my assistant, honestly."

Senator Stegger laughs out loud. "Empress, I like you," he grins.

"Do you say that to all the Empresses you meet?" she raises an eyebrow.

"Every single one," he promises with an easy smile.

Rey nods. "I thought so."

"Come with me. We'll have you at palace administration in no time, Empress. We are close."

"Thank you," Rey breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm definitely late now."

"You're the Empress," he observes. "You can't be late. Nothing starts without you."

"Oh. Is that how this works?"

"It's how it works with your husband."

"Oh. Yes, that sounds like him." Rey looks up at the man at her side. "I am interested in detainees, Senator. Far more interested in that issue than in some staff meeting about parties."

"I like parties," he smiles. "Don't you?"

"No." They round a corner and Rey's face brightens. "This is looking familiar. I think I know where I am now. Yes, my office is just down that hall. The meeting is right next door."

"Excellent. This means you owe me that meeting, Empress."

"Of course. Look, let's bypass my assistant altogether. Here," Rey gives him her personal comlink code. "Call me and we'll do it off the record," she decides.

"Avoiding your assistant?" the Senator grins again. And Rey likes how his smile crinkles his eyes. Her own eyes crinkle a little too now from years of squinting into the sun on Jakku.

"Maybe," Rey confesses. She glances down the hall. "Drat, here she comes now."

The Senator grins broader at this. Then he steps forward a little into her personal space. "If you are overscheduled during the day, Empress, perhaps you would meet me for dinner some time?"

Rey shakes her head no. "I spend my evenings with my family."

He takes the refusal easily. "Oh, course." Then he executes another bow that would make Milo jealous and departs down the hall just before Laurel her assistant hurries up.

"Good morning, your Excellency." Laurel is perky and helpful as ever. Truly, a perfect assistant if one were to want an assistant, which Rey does not.

"Good morning, Laurel. Did Senator Stegger's office call by chance?"

"Today? No, ma'am."

"What about during the past few days?"

"No, ma'am." Rey hears the lie loud and clear. But she says nothing.

"Laurel, I would like to speak with Milo today, if possible."

"Yes, ma'am."

Up marches Cesi Flick. "There you are, Rey. We were hoping you would arrive soon. We're assembled in the conference room about to get started."

Rey nods and tries to appear interested. "Lead the way, Cesi,"

The meeting is tolerable. And it gives Rey an appreciation for all the work that goes into running the palace. There are a lot of events and a never-ending stream of important visitors. Keeping the schedules straight and the set up and catering orders correct requires a command of many ever-changing details. Rey had never given any of this a second thought when she and Cade had showed up for that fateful Chancellor's Honors List dinner. But this small group had probably gone over everything from the guest list to the flowers beforehand.

Vanee and Cesi put their heads together now and decide to book Rey to attend a farewell luncheon for the Senators who are retiring at the end of the current term and the unveiling of a new war memorial statue on the palace grounds. We'll do two lowkey events this first week, Cesi suggests. Just to get your feet wet, Rey. And Rey dutifully agrees. Then she escapes all this party talk as soon as she can.

Rey finds Milo waiting patiently in her office when the meeting ends.

"Your Excellency." The old Sith servant bows deep in obeisance. "How may I serve you?"

"Kylo has asked me to learn to heal with the Force. I want to practice my skills," Rey begins and together they hatch a plan to get Rey into the local children's hospital that very afternoon for some practice. As Milo takes his leave to see to the arrangements, Rey mentions casually, "I met the junior Senator from Coruscant."

"Stegger." Milo's derisive tone speaks volumes. As Kylo's chief operative for the Senate, Rey has no doubt Milo knows all the pertinent details.

"Lady Flick tells me he is dangerous. Can you tell me why?" Rey probes.

"Senator Stegger has ties to remaining Resistance cells locally and around the Core. He quietly solicits funds for their terrorism and his friends help to launder them."

"Has this been proven?" Rey asks.

"Many times over. We always watch the money trail, Empress. Rebellions aren't built on hope, like in the old saying. They are built on credits. The Master has been very tolerant of Senator Stegger's activities." Milo is choosing his words carefully.

"You sound as if you disapprove."

"It is the Master's decision, not mine." Even trusted Milo knows his place, after all. "The Master tolerates far more dissent than he is given credit for, Rey. Groups funded by Stegger and his allies were responsible for two attempts on the Master's life last year."

"Really?" This gets Rey's attention. "I never saw anything about attempted assassination in the press."

"Both plots were foiled far in advance," Milo explains. "There was never any danger."

"Kylo was probably disappointed by that," Rey realizes and whoops she said that aloud.

Milo smiles at this aside and then unexpectedly agrees. "Well, perhaps a little. The Master doesn't get to swing his sword as often as he likes these days."

"Senator Stegger wants to meet with me to discuss unsealing records for wartime detainees," Rey discloses. "Should I take that meeting, Milo?"

"I see no harm in taking that meeting if you are prepared to talk solely about the detainee issue. But do be careful, my dear. Stegger has a clear agenda to bring down the Empire. He is an enemy of the Sith." Milo gives her a meaningful look. "Regardless of any agreement you may feel with Stegger on the war detainees, he is your enemy too. Do not forget that."

"Understood."

"I will, of course, be mentioning your meeting with Senator Stegger to the Master. I doubt that he will countermand my advice, but he might."

Yes, Rey had figured that. Milo is loyal to his Sith Master first and foremost in all things. She nods. "Understood."

Later that afternoon, incognito Empress Rey has escaped the palace. She is sitting by a child's hospital bed, taking a short break from Force healing. Healing a serious injury is very different from healing a scratch on a child's face. This is hard, she has learned. And very tiring. But Rey is hoping that in time her skills will improve and her stamina too. Looking down into the wan face of the little boy she is trying to help, Rey knows that what she is doing here makes a difference in a way that making small talk at a palace event never will. Maybe this is the positive, rewarding work she needs in her life, Rey wonders. Because she needs something good to look forward to and to enjoy.

The boy's parents have been cajoled into allowing this treatment. You don't say no when the Empress herself asks. But the boy's father, in particular, is suspicious. Still, he is polite as again he asks Rey, "You're sure this won't make him a Jedi? We don't want our boy to have the Force, Empress."

"I promise," Rey looks him in the eye. "All I am doing is attempting to heal him with the Force. It is care beyond what traditional medicine is capable of."

"You're sure?" The man is unconvinced.

"Yes."

Rey's eyes find the silent, stone faced mother now. The poor woman has large bacta patches plastered up and down her arms from where she had pulled her injured son out of the burning speeder wreck days ago. The woman looks a bit dazed by the whole experience still. So Rey tries to reassure her. "Your son will only get the benefits of the Force and none of its burdens." Rey's voice cracks a little now as she explains mom-to-mom, "Your son won't be like my son. I promise. I won't make him like my son." Rey knows that this is what these parents fear, of course. That their boy will be Titus Ren who the whole galaxy saw killing people on Empire Day. The woman nods her understanding, but doesn't say a word. In the two hours that Rey has been here, this woman has never said a word.

The door whooshes open now and Emperor Ren himself stalks in to everyone's great surprise.

"Kylo—" Rey shoots to her feet.

"I came as soon as I could. Let me see. I want to see." The Emperor is in his full regalia, complete with his show-of-force red robed guards who crowd the small clinic room. Ignoring the boy's parents who have now dropped to their knees, Kylo peers over at the child in the bed next to Rey. "Report," he tells her in his battlefield voice of command.

"Shhhh, Kylo. He's sleeping now. They have him sedated," Rey explains. "His name is Zack. He's nine years old. His arm was badly burned when his family's speeder caught fire in an accident." She glances over at the guards. "Do we need the full army here, Kylo? If he wakes, this will scare him."

Kylo nods. "Out. All of you," Kylo orders away his security. Then without looking he waves a hand in the general direction of the parents. "Get up." Emperor Ren is curt as usual in public. He does it to intimidate, Rey knows. But it also reveals plainly that Kylo Ren is here today because he cares about the Force, not because he cares about the patient. Little people like Zack and his family do not concern Emperor Ren.

But, of course, things are very different where the Emperor's own family is concerned. "Where is Titus?" he complains. "Titus should be here to see this."

"He's at the palace. In the library."

"He should be here."

"I tried, Kylo," Rey sighs. "But we quarreled this morning. He's in one of those moods when he just needs to be left alone."

"You get those," Kylo accuses softly as he pulls up a chair to sit down at her side.

"Yeah, I know. I need space sometimes." The girl who had grown up alone now ironically needs to be alone sometimes. She's a cliché now, Rey knows. The loner who is lonely.

"Are those the parents?" Kylo asks of Rey as if the couple opposite them is not in the room.

"Yes."

"Do they have to be here?"

"Yes."

"Very well." Kylo wrenches off his helmet and now the boy's parents are really spooked. Rey watches as they exchange glances and then purposely avert their eyes.

"Turn that off," Kylo complains about the muted datapad by the boy's hand that is playing cartoons. As usual, when Emperor Ren shows up, he takes charge and makes his wishes known.

But Rey stops him. "No, don't. Zack likes it and it comforts him."

"He's asleep and it's distracting—"

"Not to me."

"It is to me."

Rey gives Kylo a look. "This is not about you."

"Fine. Heal him, Rey. I want to see you heal him."

"Are you sure?" Rey hesitates. She's worried about Kylo's need for the Light. Force healing is a skill of the Light. And that's a problematic thing for a Sith Master.

Of course, Kylo knows what she is asking. He looks a little embarrassed now. "It will be okay," he mutters. "I'll be fine."

"Alright." Rey summons the Force now. She hears the quick intake of breath from Kylo next to her that betrays his reaction to the Light. Slowly, Rey sinks deeper and deeper into the universal consciousness. Blurring her own self with the psyche of this injured boy. This is the intense concentration it takes to heal. But once Rey gets the healing started, it's like the Force takes over to do the work. Truly, it is magical to experience. For it is as if life renews itself at her command.

"You're getting better at that," Kylo praises as he reaches to take her free hand in his. "You find the Force faster and faster now."

"This is hard," Rey admits aloud for the first time. "Really hard." Her eyes are closed with the effort.

"Is this what you have done this afternoon?" Rey opens her eyes and catches Kylo half standing as he peers over the newly healed strip of perfect skin on the boy's arm. It shows pink and smooth, but it is surrounded by the puckered and scarred surface where the burn had first been healed by bacta.

"Yes. I'm slow."

"Don't apologize. You're amazing," Kylo looks closely again at her handiwork. He is sincere. "Titus should be here to see this." Rey can't help but hear the note of reprimand in his words.

"Kylo, he's very discouraged about not being able to open the holochron. I think he wants to give up on the Light."

Kylo shakes his head. "He doesn't get to do that. That kid needs more Light, not less."

"He is feeling very pressured lately."

"Struggle is good for him."

"Only to an extent. Kylo, I'm worried about him. I'm really worried about him." Rey hasn't been able to get this morning's confrontation with Malia out of her mind. She worries what it all means for Titus.

"You baby him. Titus is fine."

No, he is definitely not fine. "I feel like I'm failing him, Kylo. And the more time he spends in your library, the more worried I get." There is something deeply disturbing about her son's near obsession with the Dark Side of the Force. That worries Rey too.

But, as usual, Kylo sees no problem with it. "He's learning."

"He's hiding."

Kylo changes the topic back to Force healing. "Rey, when you get really good at this, you are going to work miracles. Think of what you might have done for my grandfather. Or for Snoke."

"Are you sure this okay for you?" Rey looks Kylo over. Noting now that his eyes are closed. "Are you sure this isn't too much for you?" she whispers.

"I'm alright," he responds, although Rey has noticed that Kylo is clamping down hard on her hand that isn't resting on the patient. He's pretty much crushing her fingers. If it gets any worse, she'll be Force healing herself.

"Rey, you need to practice this regularly. The Jedi who worked as healers were known to apprentice many long years before they could pass their trials. This is a skill not easily mastered."

"I know. Milo has arranged for me to be here two afternoons a week."

"Make it three," Kylo decrees. "With Titus here to watch and help."

And now, she and Kylo are back to talking about Titus again. Like two normal parents might discuss their child. Only none of this is normal. Not the parents, not the child, and not the problems. But they both want the best for their son, Rey knows. She and Kylo just disagree on what that means. "Kylo, you need to lay off Titus. He's just a kid."

"He is a kid with a miraculous midichlorian count and more Jedi and Sith in his gene pool than anyone ever born. If anyone can be the Chosen One, he can. But he needs to learn the Light."

Rey disagrees. "Kylo, Titus need less Force, not more. He's skipping school to study all day and then again talking Force with us at night. It's too much for a twelve-year-old. Titus needs to be off wasting time with his friends and having fun. Playing video games and talking about podracing and girls."

"Three afternoons a week, Rey. You're supposed to become more powerful than I can possibly imagine, remember? That will take practice." Kylo isn't giving up.

Neither is she. Rey tries a different rebuttal. "Cesi has signed me up for all sorts of Empress stuff now. For all I know, she's got me at parties three afternoons a week."

Kylo dismisses this concern. "You hate parties like I do. Blow them off and come here. This is more important."

Force, Force, Force. Force first above everything. Kylo is voicing the very same attitude that her son had displayed when he had announced he was skipping school this morning. It annoys her. "Kylo," Rey complains, "How can you possibly expect Titus to balance the Force if he can't learn to balance his own life? Too much of anything is bad. It gets extreme."

Darth Ren snorts, "There is no work-life balance for a Sith, Rey. We are extreme people, haven't you figured that out? We are the guardians of the Force. We don't get to be normal."

"I wish we could be normal. I would give anything for us to be more normal," Rey gripes. "Look, Titus needs less Force and more fun." She shoots Kylo a sideways glance. "You could use some fun too, you know. You don't look so good lately," she observes, noticing again the tired, strained cast to his features. Kylo looks a bit worn down. Even paler than usual.

"It's not fun that I need," he reveals with a flush.

"Oh." Of course. It is the Light. He's a Dark Sith who craves the Light.

"This is good," he sounds hopeful now.

"But it's only going to make you want more—"

"I know. But this is good because I need it now. It helps, Rey. Things have been hard since . . ."

"I know." Neither of them has ever spoken of that night they were together in her cell. Rey inhales a deep breath and resumes speaking of Titus. She'd rather not speak of that night either. "Can you take Titus flying again? Kylo, he loved that. Or maybe you could teach him how to shoot? I have been thinking about asking Cesi if Nestor will teach him how to clean a gun." It would be good if there were something more to hold her family together than just the Force. For in the past, the Force has tended to divide the Skywalkers, rather than unite them.

"Fine. I'll take him flying."

"Good. Now, stop talking because that just makes this harder. It's too much to concentrate on both healing and on you."

An hour later, Rey's concentration is spent and the effort has taken a physical toll. Rey is slumped against Kylo, who has clutched her hand the whole time for his fix of Light. But the results are impressive. Zack's arm is more than halfway healed and Rey is quite proud. So is Kylo. He gathers her closer for a brief side hug. "Well done, scavenger. Well done," he whispers.

Rey smiles at this praise. "Master Luke would have loved this," she remarks.

"Who needs Luke Skywalker when you have the holochrons," Kylo smirks. Then, he is serious. "When you're done with this boy, you should heal his mother. She is hurting too Rey."

Rey realizes belatedly now that, of course, the boy's parents are still here in the room. They are so silent and still that it's easy to forget their presence. When Rey looks up to them, they instantly avert their eyes. No doubt they are uncomfortable for what they have seen and heard. "Yes, I'll do that," Rey decides. She speaks directly to the boy's mother. "I will be back tomorrow. I'd like to finish what I started with Zack. And then if you will let me, I will help you." Rey looks over at the nervous woman and commends, "It was brave of you to save your son."

"It is what any mother would have done, Empress," the woman speaks up for the first time. "It was more instinct than anything."

Rey nods. "I understand. We mothers hate to see our children suffer." Rey herself knows this first hand.

"You are working a miracle here," the boy's mother says gravely. "They told us Zack would be scarred for life."

"My wife is very powerful," Kylo boasts like the Sith he is. "Very few people realize that. This just the beginning of what she will do."

"Thank you, Empress. Thank you from the bottom of my heart," the woman says solemnly.

Rey smiles. She's a little embarrassed by all this. "Thank the Force," she tells the other mother. "Don't thank me."

"You're sure that all this Force this won't make our boy a Jedi?" the worried father repeats his earlier concern. "We are loyal citizens of the Empire and we hate the Jedi."

Emperor Ren smirks at this statement said for his benefit. "My wife is the only Jedi here. She is the last Jedi. I killed all the rest." He stands to his feet now and offers Rey a hand up. She's tired and she takes it. "Come," he tells her as he drapes an arm around her. "Let me take you home."

"Okay," Rey yawns. She's ready to go. In fact, she's fading fast and ready for a nap.

"This is good, Rey," Kylo approves as he collects his helmet. "This is like we are friends."

"Yeah, I guess you're right . . . sort of . . . " she realizes.

"This is good," Kylo repeats with more conviction. "I knew we could be friends."


	32. Chapter 32

"Your Excellency, your every wish is my command." Lady Flick sweeps gracefully down to the floor and remains there.

"Oh, get up, Cesi," Rey gripes at this exaggerated greeting done in jest. "You'll get your dress dirty and blame me."

Lady Flick is undeterred. Still kneeling, she throws her head over her shoulder in the direction of Rey's assistant. "Come and see, Laurel. There's a real Empress here today. Thank the Gods the real Empress decided to show up at long last."

"Cesi, get up."

But Lady Flick remains on one knee, with eyes now conspicuously downcast. "I am awed by your glory, your Excellency. Who knew the Galactic Soccer Mom would clean up so well?"

Rey is losing patience now. "Get up, Cesi. Or you will feel the Force."

"As you wish." Her friend complies and now surveys Rey critically. "The dress is great. Very regal. Red is definitely your color," Lady Flick approves. "The updo is a bit severe but I kind of like it. It makes you look taller and it says that you mean business. That you might Force choke someone who ticks you off. Twirl for me," Cesi commands as she completes her detailed inspection. "Did you forget your jewelry? Rey, where is your jewelry?"

Rey shrugs. "I don't own any jewelry."

Cesi blinks and then recoils in horror. "Oh, yes, I forgot. We can fix that. Laurel, please make some calls and fix that. And only big, important stuff. No accessible bijoux. She's the Empress. She doesn't wear stacked bracelets in odd numbers or cutesy mommy jewelry with charms and birthstones. And absolutely no rose gold." Cesi shudders at the very thought.

Jewelry? Should she be wearing jewelry? Rey thinks a moment. "I guess I have the engagement ring Kylo tried to give me. He bought it for me years ago."

"Yeah?" Cesi raises an eyebrow. "Why aren't you wearing it?"

Rey is a little defensive now. "It was ugly. A big red stone on black metal."

"Hmmmm. I'd have to see it. Wait-you didn't tell him it was ugly, did you? You did!" Cesi accuses. "That was bitchy. And shortsighted too. When a man buys you jewelry, the response is always 'I love it!' Never dissuade a man from buying you jewelry, Rey. Just say you love it and only wear it to bed."

"You wear jewelry to bed?"

"Doesn't everyone? Now show me the shoes," Lady Flick demands and Rey sticks out one foot from beneath her hem. "Those are . . . sensible. But they don't show. Honestly, Rey, you look great," Cesi beams like a proud mother. "What did Kylo think?" she wants to know. "What did he say when he saw you at breakfast?"

"He didn't. I spent so much time with the grooming droid this morning that I missed him at breakfast," Rey explains. She had forgotten how long it takes to do the full princess hair and makeup routine. Her usual ponytail and lip gloss were a lot more efficient.

Cesi is disappointed. "Well, that's too bad. Because Kylo would be hot for this look."

"Hardly. He wouldn't even notice, Cesi."

Lady Flick disagrees. "Oh, yes he would. Rey, you didn't see him on Empire Day. Kylo swept into the palace carrying you in his arms all limp with hair streaming. He laid you gently on the bed and turned to me to say 'make my Empress as beautiful as she truly is. Tonight, the galaxy will be watching.' Then he cupped his hand to your cheek and left."

Rey is unimpressed. She cocks her head. "Is that where you got the true love bullshit from? Because that was right after Kylo threatened to kill me, you know."

"Rey, an Empress does not say bullshit," Lady Flick admonishes primly.

"Bullshit."

"Standards, Rey. Standards." But Cesi gives Rey yet another approving look. "Yes, we definitely have to make sure that Kylo sees you in this get up. He's a Sith and they like power, right? You look like power, Rey. What moved you to finally dress the part? Are you receiving guests in the throne room today?"

"I'm meeting with Senator Stegger this morning."

"What?!" For once, Cesi Flick is at a loss for words. But only briefly. "No! Rey, I forbid it!"

Rey ignores this. She turns to Laurel. "Did Cesi tell you to reject this meeting when the Senator's office called twice?"

"Er . . ." Rey catches the quick look between the two women. But Laurel dutifully takes the blame. "Of course not. I take full responsibility for the error, Empress. I will submit my resignation this morning."

"You will not. I forbid that too!" Cesi barks at Laurel. "You don't get to quit and she doesn't get to fire you. Now get on the com to Stegger's office and cancel that meeting."

Rey pulls rank. "Laurel is my assistant, Cesi. And I'm the Empress, remember?"

"And I'm your friend and it's my job to stop you from doing stupid things, Rey. Like this!"

Rey raises her chin in defiance. "It's too late. He will be here any moment. And stop worrying. Milo already knows about the meeting."

"That means Kylo knows." Cesi Flick is familiar with how these things work. "Probably Nestor too given who it is."

"If it's okay with those guys, then it should be okay with you, Cesi," Rey says pointedly.

And it's hard for Lady Flick to refute this logic. She backs down. "Alright. But you should have a guard in here with you the whole time."

"A guard?" Rey raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Stegger is dangerous," Cesi hisses. "Have you heard nothing I said about him? Hold on," Lady Flick says before she darts quickly in and out of her office to collect something from her desk. She hands it to Rey.

It's a small pistol. "A blaster?" Rey is annoyed. "Oh, come on, Cesi. He's not going to shoot me."

"You don't know that," Cesi counters. "And the Force is no match for a good blaster at your side, Nestor always says. My husband insists that I keep two pistols in my office. He taught me how to shoot but I'm awful. Actually," Lady Flick looks a bit shamefaced, "I believe he said that I was an embarrassment to the Flick family name. So pretty much, if I need to use this I'm a dead woman. But I'll have one blaster left in the office next door. Rey, if you start shooting, I'll send in Laurel with the other one."

"Me?" young Laurel yelps.

"Yes, you," Cesi decides. She has this all planned out. "I'll stay behind and call security."

"This is ridiculous," Rey announces as she tries to hand the gun back.

Cesi refuses. "Just put it in your desk, Rey. That will make me happy. Nestor says Stegger is dangerous and I listen to my husband on these things." Lady Flick turns to instruct Laurel, "Please call down and get two Imperial guards stationed outside her door ASAP. Really, Rey, you need that for the optics alone. An Empress has guards. I don't know why Kylo lets you run around without any guards."

"Fine, I'll take some guards by the door." Rey gives in just to end the discussion. "Now, everyone out."

She gives this instruction not a moment too soon because five minutes later Senator Stegger presents himself to her two new Imperial guards for admittance. Rey stands and moves from behind her desk to greet him. She looks him over with her practiced princess aplomb. Noting how well he wears his expensive Senate robes and his well-trimmed beard. From Cade Biggs, Rey learned to appreciate a beard on a man.

"Good morning, Empress." He executes a formal greeting. "Thank you for meeting with me today. It is an honor."

"You do that bow like you learned it from birth," Rey observes with a welcoming smile. Today, she is aiming to appear regal and confident.

He flashes a grin. "I'm told you hate it when people kneel. Unlike Emperor Ren, who is famous for leaving people groveling in the dirt." The Senator intersperses this dig at Kylo with some praise for her. "I quite enjoy your egalitarian nature, Empress. It is refreshing to see that coming from the palace. I like that you disdain formality and excessive security."

"Don't get any ideas," Rey answers back. "I have a pistol in my desk."

"And you have the Force," the Senator points out. "Can you snap my neck with your mind too?" he asks and she's not sure if he's serious or joking. But either way, the answer is the same.

"Yes."

"Have you ever actually done it?" Stegger looks far too ghoulishly intrigued by this question.

"The only person I've ever choked is Kylo," Rey admits. "But there's always a next time for these sorts of things."

And now Stegger is fishing. "Is that why you were in prison? For choking the Emperor?"

"No. I choked him a few months ago. It was at breakfast actually," Rey recalls.

The Senator smirks as he chuckles. "Remind me never to book an early morning meeting with you before you've had your caf, Empress."

"Please, Senator, have a seat." Rey waves him onto the couch opposite her desk as she takes the adjacent chair. "Let's get started, shall we?" Then Rey makes a quiet statement when she uses the Force to pull her datapad off her desk into her hands. Small harmless public displays of Force were encouraged back in her Sith princess days. Never let them forget who they are dealing with, Milo had counseled. This morning, Senator Stegger watches and says nothing.

"So . . . the missing war detainees?" Rey prompts.

The Senator instead chooses a different topic. "Empress, you should know that I plan to propose to the Chancellor that an apology for the Starkiller be the first resolution of the new Senate term. Your public call for an apology made quite an impression on me."

"That is a bold move," Rey judges. "And one likely to fail."

"It is long overdue. We owe it to the Hosnian people to address this war crime. An apology would set a conciliatory tone and signal a new beginning for how the First Order engages with the Core worlds."

Rey raises an eyebrow. "What makes you think that Emperor Ren wants a new beginning?"

"I don't know that he does. But I am offering him the opportunity all the same."

"Or," Rey observes, "maybe you just want to make the gesture so that it can be denied and you can publicly raise the Starkiller again as a rallying call for your dissident friends. From what I know, reopening old wounds seems to be a favorite tactic of yours."

The Senator nods in acknowledgement of her hit. "For a woman who has no political experience, you learn fast."

"Senator, I lived among the Resistance and among the First Order. I am familiar with both viewpoints and I understand how these things work. Even during the war, the Resistance understood how to manipulate symbolic gestures to reinforce their public posture as underdogs and victims even though their leadership were all founding members of the New Republic." Rey leans forward in her chair. "I twice tried to end the war, Senator. It was inevitable that the First Order would win. Both sides saw that, but rather than negotiate the best peace deal possible and end the bloodshed, the Resistance leaders fought on to the bitter end rather than compromise. A lot of people died for their insistence on principle." Rey gives Stegger a measuring look. "That experience has given me a lifelong disdain of extremism. Be it on the left or the right. Please remember that, Senator. I want no part in extremism." Especially extremism that tries to kill Kylo Ren.

Stegger is silent a moment as he eyes her appraisingly. Now, it's his turn to draw a line in the sand. "Extremism in the cause of liberty is no vice, Empress." He pauses a moment to let that statement sink in. It's basically one step removed from an endorsement of terrorism. Then he continues: "I confess now that I lied when I said that your interview made a big impression on me, Empress. Truthfully, it was Empire Day that caught my notice. When I heard you demand freedom from Kylo Ren instead of beg for mercy, I knew that you were a woman of rare courage and conviction."

Rey brushes off this praise. "I had nothing to lose."

"You had your head to lose," Stegger corrects her. He looks Rey in the eye. "You were a heroine to many of us that day. Later, when I heard your official story, I wasn't surprised to learn that you too had been with the Resistance. I'm sure that there is much more to your tale of imprisonment than the palace lets on. I also suspect that we have far more in common than you will admit, Empress."

"We don't know each other well enough to conclude that," Rey puts him off.

"Then we should get to know each other better, Empress. Because when the First Order publicly acknowledges that you are the person to thank for everything from the Senate to civil rights, it's clear that your influence matters." Stegger leans forward in his seat to tell her, "You could be an important voice for freedom."

Just then, the door whooshes open and in walks Milo. Both Rey and her guest blink in surprise. This is unexpected. Milo is the personal representative of Emperor Ren and his well-known enforcer in the Senate. Milo's presence anywhere is never accidental.

"Your Excellency," Milo is his usual very dignified self as he bows low in her direction, "I am here to join you and the Senator. I trust I have not delayed matters with my tardiness. I was unavoidably detained."

"By Ren?" the Senator asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Indeed," Milo allows with a tight smile. And the implication is clear-Kylo has sent him.

"How fortunate we are that Emperor Ren takes such a keen interest in this matter." The Senator's words are politely said . . . sort of. They hang precariously on the edge of sarcasm.

"All things pertaining to the Empress have the Emperor's keen interest," Milo replies smoothly. It's clear from this small understated exchange that these two men do not care for one other. And, Rey surmises, this is not their first snippy encounter.

Rey hastens to intercede. "We were just getting started," Rey keeps up her gracious Sith princess facade. "Milo, won't you sit down?" She gestures to a chair.

Milo sits back, legs crossed and arms folded to merely observe. He says nothing but his presence speaks volumes. It's the next best thing to having Emperor Ren sitting in. And it has a definite chilling effect. Stegger's bold talk of liberty is quelled. Instead, he speaks eloquently and at length about the suffering of the families of missing war detainees on Coruscant.

As the meeting concludes, Milo hurries on to his next appointment but Stegger lingers briefly. He bows low then leans in. "Next time, Empress, we should meet in private where we can speak frankly."

"Is there something you wish to say to me, Senator?"

"There are many things we could discuss. But not with Ren's eyes and ears close by." Stegger's eyes narrow. "Did you invite him?" he asks point blank of Milo.

"No, I did not," Rey answers truthfully. "This was still a good discussion. I am moved by the patience and fortitude of your constituents who have missing loved ones. And I will keep your request for a Starkiller apology in mind. Thank you for coming, Senator."

"My friends call me, Cato," he tells her with that engaging smile that crinkles his eyes. Are his eyes blue or are they green? Rey can't tell. She keeps getting distracted because his man has charisma in spades.

She can't help but smile back. "My friends call me Rey."

"Let's meet again soon, Rey. Next time, in private."

One boring luncheon, school carpool and some Force healing later, the day is done. Rey is with Titus waiting for Kylo to arrive for dinner. "I want that comlink, Titus," Rey tells her son sternly. She has made this request more than once since that unfortunate confrontation with Malia.

But her son's answer is always the same. "No. And stop asking for it, Mom. You're not getting it."

"I'm your mother and I know what's best—" Rey is gearing up for another argument until she hears footsteps. She drops the subject just in time.

"Rey, how is Senator Stegger these days?" Kylo drawls out this question as he stalks into dinner. "Did you two plot a revolution this morning?"

"Milo was there," Rey answers tartly. She's still a bit annoyed at that unexpected supervision. "Didn't he give you a full report?"

"As a matter of fact, no," Kylo answers as he sits down. "Milo just said it was uneventful."

"Who is Senator Stegger?" Titus asks Rey.

Kylo answers. "He is the junior Senator from Coruscant who bundles credits for terrorist groups on the side. Stegger puts a dignified face on what is left of the Resistance. He fancies himself a sort of modern Mon Mothma. Back in the war, he was a low-level hack in the Resistance. That's why he survived to live under the amnesty. I executed all the brains of the Resistance and let the rest live." Kylo shoots his son a meaningful look. "Stegger is our enemy. His friends tried to kill me twice last year alone."

"Oh." Titus is alarmed. "Wow. Really?"

Kylo looks sort of proud at this reaction. "To be Sith is to be marked for death," he boasts as he shakes out his napkin. "Traditionally, we Sith lived by the sword and died by the sword. But these days, there are no Jedi left to cut me down. And I refuse to be blown up by some homemade bomb a Resistance wannabe cooked up in their garage with instructions they found on the holonet."

"Wait-is this guy dangerous to Mom?" Titus looks over to her with real concern. "Mom, maybe you should have some security after all."

Rey shrugs. "I was fine. Your Aunt Cesi gave me a blaster to hide in my desk before he came."

Kylo snickers at this. "Did you use it?"

"No."

"Too bad. Well, what did Stegger have to say?" Kylo wants to know. "I know it wasn't a social call."

"We spoke mostly about the missing detainee issue," Rey reports. "Stegger wants to get a petition of Senators together to sign onto a bill for release of information for all missing detainees. We talked about having the disclosure phased in world by world, starting in those Core worlds with the highest number of missing. That way, there won't be a single, quantifiable amount to shock everyone." Rey looks to Kylo and he just shrugs this off. Likely because he doesn't care.

Rey continues, "The Senator wants anyone still in custody to be granted a right to a hearing under the new habeas laws and given the opportunity to claim for release under the original amnesty. The goal is to provide answers to the families of the dead and due process of law for any living. He also talked about compensation for any living beings who have been imprisoned all this time, but he's not really expecting to get it. And I'd rather not muddy up this issue with the issue of war reparations," Rey thinks aloud. She knows from her attempts at peace negotiations long ago that it's easier to reach agreement if fewer issues are on the table. "That's about it. It was a very high-level discussion. This is all preliminary," Rey explains.

"What do you think?" Kylo turns now to his son. "Once your mother, Stegger and his friends in the opposition get a bill together, should I allow it?"

Titus looks confused. He doesn't understand the question. "If it's a Senate bill, doesn't the Senate decide? Not you?"

A slow, broad grin spreads across his father's face. "I am the Senate. I tell Nestor what I want on key issues, and Nestor tells the Senators what bills to draft and how to vote. The rest of the time, I rely on Nestor to watch my back when it comes to legislation. The Chancellor makes sure that the First Order agenda is achieved."

"I thought Milo worked on the Senate," Titus is trying to understand. This is not what he has been taught in school, of course.

Kylo nods. "Milo makes sure that I have leverage over all key Senators. Milo does the same for the ranking judges in the Core World. So, in effect, he controls the courts for me too. I personally control the military." Kylo points a fork at his son for emphasis. "Remember that. Never let anyone with the means to mount a coup get out from under your personal oversight. You will delegate many things one day, Titus. But never delegate the means to maintain your power." Kylo takes a drink of wine before he asks again, "So . . . should I do it? Should I release the information on the missing war detainees?"

The boy considers a long moment while curious Rey looks on.

"Yes," Titus decides.

And Kylo's answer surprises her too. "I agree." Then, the Sith smiles at his son in a patient, encouraging manner that reminds Rey of old Snoke. "Tell me why I should do it, Titus. We Sith may channel emotion for our power, but we are ruthlessly logical. There must always be a reason for your actions, son. Reckless emotion has been the undoing of many a Sith." Kylo takes another drink of wine and settles back in his chair. He's enjoying himself, Rey sees. "Tell me why."

The boy furrows his brow before he responds, "It will provide answers for a lot of families."

Kylo dismisses this response. "Sentiment is not a reason. Frame it as a reason."

"Okay . . . well . . . providing answers to those families might help people move past the war. Maybe they will be less bitter then? And more inclined to like the First Order?" Titus says hopefully. And Rey can't help but wonder if her son is thinking about that ugly scene with Malia.

Kylo counters. "Most of those families were Resistance sympathizers. I killed their loved ones. They will hate me no matter what."

"I guess that's right," the boy concedes. "But what about the Resistance sympathizers whose family you didn't kill? Maybe they will be impressed by this move. Aren't those the people who you want to get over the war the most? I mean . . . they were the losers . . . "

"Lots of people who supported the New Republic didn't actually fight in the war," Rey chimes in. "The First Order is more of a political dispute for them than a personal one."

Kylo nods. "You make a good point, Titus. There is value in diffusing conflict. You keep the peace not by making everyone happy but by keeping everyone from getting too unhappy. There is a difference, for sure. Why else should I do this?"

The boy thinks again. "I guess it's one less thing for your opponents to complain about."

"Yes, it makes me look reasonable. Magnanimous. What else?"

The boy shrugs and looks to his father. "Well, what's the downside of revealing what happened?"

"It's a very large number."

"Oh."

"How large?" Rey wants to know. "Stegger thinks it's close to a million perhaps."

"More," Kylo reveals. "The number is going to make headlines. And those headlines are going to remind people of the most brutal time in recent memory. And I bear the blame for that."

"Can you blame Leader Snoke for it instead?" Titus ventures.

And that suggestion makes Kylo grin. "I like the way you think, kid. Actually, I blamed the Starkiller on Snoke. Which is where the blame belongs. But no, in this case the blame belongs with me. My war strategy resulted in a very large detainee population. I made the decisions for how to deal with them. In Core worlds with large homegrown militia movements like here in Coruscant, detainees were mostly executed. On other worlds, they were released."

"Yes, that's what I thought," Titus says softly. "It was all you."

"It was a war, Titus. People died. On both sides," Kylo says pointedly. Then he resumes his explanation. "Still, even with the ugly press fallout, the pros outweigh the cons on this decision. So, in due time, I plan to agree to some form of Stegger's bill. It is all part of a larger effort to elevate your mother's standing with the public," Kylo reveals. "There is a larger issue in play. Dissidents are gaining strength in the Core, especially here on Coruscant. I need to make some reforms to keep my disgruntled subjects under control. I will never persuade the hardline far left, but I can persuade the middle who the radicals wish to influence. But to do that, I need a centrist, moderate voice to lead the cause for reform."

Kylo looks to Rey now and smiles slyly. "That's where you come in, Rey. I don't want to ruin my credibility with the hardliners on the far right and I do not wish to appear as though I reversed myself on prior decisions. So instead I will introduce a third party into the mix. A strawman third party, naturally. Now, I could elevate a favorite Senator to play that role. But I have opted to go another route. Your mother the Empress will be shepherding my unofficial reform agenda."

"Mom, you are doing this?" Titus turns to her in surprise.

"Yes," Kylo answers before Rey can object. "Your mother began today working with our enemy Stegger on the detainee issue. You mother, Stegger and the rest of his liberal caucus will negotiate the major issues. Rey, it will be the usual stuff they complain about, I'm sure. More freedom of the press, more transparency and accountability in the bureaucracy, maybe some incremental additions to civil liberties. Whatever. I'm open to it all. But bring me reasonable proposals, not a wishlist. I will consider them. I won't give you as much as Stegger and his friends want. But it will be meaningful change."

"Kylo, I'm not a politician," Rey starts to complain. She had understood this Empress gig to be mostly about boring parties, awkward interviews, and fancy dresses. And maybe a pet issue here and there like education for the Rim. But Kylo clearly has much more in mind. He really does intend for her to be the loyal opposition after all.

He makes his hard sell now. "Rey, you are the perfect person to do this. You are apolitical with no constituency to please other than me. You have common sense and you can negotiate well. And you know how these lefty Resistance types think. You don't owe anything to them, whereas they want all the influence you can provide. They have to listen to you. And, once I show the galaxy that you have sway over me, they will want to listen to you."

Kylo warms to his theme. "Rey, once you become a reasonable voice for reform, I will give you some of what you ask for. That will have the effect of bolstering your credibility and achieving my goal of reform. It's a win-win all around. The Empire gets some moderation. You get most of the credit and I don't sully my hands dealing directly with the opposition."

"So this is all optics?" Titus asks.

"Not at all." Kylo looks very determined now. "The first Empire quickly became too repressive. Sidious was paranoid and his kneejerk reaction once he seized power was to clamp down hard on all dissent. It was a grave error. That strategy fostered discontent that became widespread and ultimately ripened into the Rebellion. Listen well, Titus: our goal is not to quash our opposition, but to manage it. Your mother is going to manage it for me."

"I haven't agreed to this." Rey is feeling a bit ambushed now.

Kylo ignores her and continues the history lesson for Titus. "The context to all of this is important, son. Keep in mind that that first Empire was greeted with popular acclaim. Sidious started with goodwill and squandered it fast. I was not so fortunate. I conquered my Empire. The legacy of my war is a lot of hard feelings on both sides still today. For every family in the Core who wants me to apologize for Hosnia, there is a family in the Rim who lost a loved one on Starkiller Base."

"Yeah . . . I suppose so," Titus nods his understanding.

"The point is that our task is much harder than the challenges facing my grandfather and Sidious. That's why we must learn from their mistakes and be more flexible in our approach to governance. Otherwise, we too will fail. Titus, the war is history for you, but your mother and I lived it. It cost us and our family a great deal and billions died along the way. This family needs to rise to the occasion now to merit those sacrifices. I want this to be an Empire for the ages. And each of us," Kylo looks to her now, "will do our part in securing its future."

"I haven't agreed to any of this," Rey reminds Kylo again.

And, as usual, the Sith doesn't take no for an answer. "Rey, this is your chance to make things the way you want them to be. I am giving you unprecedented, extra-constitutional power to build something meaningful and lasting for the galaxy and for our son. You will be the Light. Not just for me personally but for all people. The Jedi called themselves keepers of the peace, and that's what you will be doing. Helping to promote peace and stability by keeping my Empire strong." Kylo looks at her solemnly now. He has a fervent look of righteousness in his eye. "You grew up in the aftermath of the war that resulted from the fall of the Old Empire. Help me keep the New Empire together so that we can keep another civil war at bay. Rey, I know how much you hate war."

Rey is wary of this reasoning. Because 'help me reform the Empire so I can prevent another war' sounds an awful lot like 'be my token liberal stooge so I can hold on to my power.' And Malia's accusations that Rey was complicit in the last war still loudly ring in her ears. So she calls out Kylo on his actions. "What you did in the Core at the end was slaughter."

"So you have said publicly," he drawls.

"It's true."

"I agree." Kylo turns to their son and reverts to Sith Master teaching mode once again. "I take responsibility for my actions, but I do not regret them. The ends justified the means. I would do it all again."

"Yes, I know," Rey says coldly. That's the problem, really. And it's what's keeping her from saying yes.

"Rey, the best hope for the future is that we succeed. If Stegger and his friends kill me and bring down the Empire, there will be another bitter civil war. More people will die. And then the cycle will begin again. The only way to keep from repeating the mistakes of the past is to veer from the paths that brought others there. That's why Dark and Light need to work together this time around. I let you out of your cell because I want you to play a meaningful role in this family and in the Empire. Titus and I have need of your talents, Rey. They were wasted in solitary confinement fiddling on a datapad all day." Kylo looks her in the eye. "I need your help, Rey."

Rey's eyes dart over to Titus. The boy looks both impressed and scared by Kylo's grand speech. Rey has to admit that it was a good one. Kylo Ren is at his most compelling and charismatic when he speaks like this. This Sith is a strange mix of optimism and ruthlessness, of grand personal ambition and altruism. Rey has never quite figured out his conflicting character, but maybe that's the point. Kylo is a Chosen One, after all. Born with equal capacity for good and bad, and to this day there are vestiges of both in the mix. And like Darth Plagueis and Darth Vader, Darth Ren is still the romantic dreamer hellbent to right the wrongs of the past and to transcend the shortcomings of the present. Kylo might have missed his own chance to balance the Force and grown too Dark over the years now to achieve it. But this is the man who drew Rey to him during those early days on Jakku and then beguiled her during the height of the war. And now again, Rey can't help but feel his pull. For Kylo is right. The Light is tempted to flirt with Darkness. But Rey is older and wiser now. And so, she holds back from agreeing.

Kylo must see that she's unconvinced because he speaks plainly now even in front of Titus. "When do we get to stop rehashing the past, Rey? When do we get to move on? I want you and I to move on past the war. And I want the galaxy to move on past the war. But I need your cooperation to do so."

Kylo's slightly exasperated tone rubs her the wrong way. "When do we get to move past the war?" Rey too is speaking plainly. "When you say that you are sorry, Kylo."

She's speaking about herself personally as much as she is about the galaxy, but Kylo misunderstands. "Fine," he nods. "I will publicly announce that the First Order regrets the tragic loss of life on Hosnia. That is what you wanted, right? An apology for the Starkiller?"

"That's not an apology."

"It's as close as you will get from me, Rey."

"But Sith do not apologize," Titus points out to his father the Dark Side maxim he has been taught.

"That's true, as a general rule," Kylo admits. He's back in teaching mode now. "But in apologies, as in everything else, the ends justify the means for a Sith. Titus, I want your mother's help and I am willing to make a public statement of regret to get it." Kylo gives Rey a look of approval now. "You drive a hard bargain, Empress. I'm counting on you to do the same for Stegger and his crew."

Titus speaks up. "You should do it, Mom. You'd be good at this."

"Listen to the kid, Rey," Kylo instructs her before he turns to instruct his son, "I will need your help too, Titus. There is a big part in all of this years down the line for you. But first you must be prepared. When you are ready, you will train as Sith. But for now, I want you in school more. You need to know more than just the Force to rule an Empire."

"Yes, Master," the boy grumbles. But he makes his misgivings known. "Master, what if I'm no good at ruling your Empire? And what if I'm not able to balance the Force?" He sounds so young now as he asks, "Do you really think I can do this?"

Kylo's response is surprisingly kind. "You won't be doing either task alone, Titus. Your mother and I will be with you every step of the way." Kylo looks over to her expectantly. "Right, Rey?"

And how can she say no? "Yes. Titus, I will always be here for you."

The boy looks more intimidated than ever, so perhaps that's why Kylo tries to reassure. "It won't be all work, kid. There will be fun. Let's go flying again this Saturday. We should make that a regular thing. Flying takes practice. So let's go flying each Saturday." Kylo had been listening to her after all, Rey realizes. He got the message: more school, less Force, more fun.

"Can Mom come?" Titus asks hopefully.

"Why not?" Kylo looks to her. "Are you game, Rey?"

"For flying? Sure."

"For everything. Rey, I want you all in for our family and for our future," Kylo summarizes his glorious plan as only he can.

It's a moment of decision now. Rey looks from her son to her husband as she considers. Titus is looking at her pleadingly and Kylo's eyes burn a hole through hers. They both want this, she sees. Probably for different reasons and certainly with different expectations. But they want this all the same.

"Rey?" Kylo prompts softly.

"Okay," she agrees. "I'll give it a try."

"Good." Rey reads clear relief in Kylo's eyes, but he quickly moves on. "Now, finish up and let's talk Force. Rey, I want to hear more about your healing. Kid, she's going to heal you tonight."

"But I'm not hurt," Titus protests.

"You will be," Kylo announces with relish as he picks up his sharp steak knife and starts cleaning it with his napkin.

"What the fuck?" Titus shoots to his feet. "What are you gonna do with that?" he demands.

This reaction makes Kylo laugh out loud. "Relax, it's only going to be a scratch and your mother will heal it. And besides, the Sith are not squeamish about pain. This will toughen you up." Seeing the boy blanche further, Kylo adds, "Titus, no Skywalker has never been a wuss. My uncle and I each lost a hand, my grandfather lost all four limbs and his skin, and my great-grandfather got the business end of Lord Sidious' sword. If we can handle all of that, you can handle this."

"Kylo, what is this about?" Rey too is alarmed. She shoots to her feet as well. "I won't let you hurt him!"

Kylo is firm. "He needs more Light, Rey. This will give him some Light. And since Titus refuses to come with you to the hospital to watch you heal others, then he himself will be healed." Kylo twirls the blade in his hand. "Titus, maybe next time your mother requests your attendance, you will cooperate."

"Uh . . . yeah . . . sure . . . " Titus stammers without tearing his eyes off the knife. "Anytime, Mom. Anytime."

Kylo laughs again and Rey shoots him a look. In the end, despite all his gleeful posturing, Kylo hands her the knife. Rey understands Kylo's aim and she's hoping it will help. So she makes a gentle scratch on Titus' wrist that would barely merit a small bandage, let alone a bacta patch. Then she summons the Light to heal the injury. Rey narrates what she's doing all the while. Titus' reaction is instant. He stares at her wide eyed, trusting and very childlike, his mouth a round O. In all, it takes only a few seconds. Then, Titus is demanding more. Little Sith that he is, Titus Ren wants more.

Rey raises her eyebrows as she looks up to catch Kylo's eye. The question dies on her lips, for Sith Master Darth Ren is staring at her with an unnerving intensity. Then, he blinks and nods. "More," he rasps. And something about his tone makes Rey wonder whether Kylo is speaking of himself or their son.

She does it again. "Let's try healing together this time," Rey suggests. And it doesn't quite work out, but at least Titus tries. When they are done, Rey glances up to catch that same look on Kylo's face again. The Sith is always an intense man, but tonight is something different. Kylo now has the air of a man who is stretched and stressed. Ready to snap if the right pressure is applied. Kylo Ren is always dangerous, but tonight especially so.

"More. Try harder, kid." As he says this, Kylo immediately stands to his feet to stalk away. Ostensibly he's staring out the windows at his capital world but Rey knows full well that his attention is on her. On her Light. His back is turned but the set of his shoulders and the clench of his fists betray his unease. Kylo had warned her that having her around and feeling the Light Side of the Force only whets his appetite for more. Tonight, vividly Rey sees the temptation. She's not done healing that final scratch when she looks up to see Kylo abruptly storm from the room.

Rey and Titus exchange looks. "He asks the impossible," Titus moans, completely mistaking his father's rushed exit for criticism. "I just can't do it, Mom. I can't do it."

Rey cups her son's cheek with her hand. "Titus, he's not upset about you."

* * *

The door to his chambers is kept firmly locked with the Force, but the door to Rey's adjoining suite is not. And so, as Kylo sits quiet and still with his senses stretched out in deep meditation, he easily detects the soft whoosh of the door as Rey opens it three rooms away. And, of course, he senses her approach in the Force. His Empress wanders a moment, tentatively calling his name, until she finds him here sequestered with his grandfather's mask.

He knows she is here without turning around. And she knows that he senses her presence. So Rey waits respectfully for him to finish. She would do this on the _Finalizer_ , Kylo remembers with a pang. Orphaned Rey of Jakku had understood his deep reverence for the grandfather Kylo never met. Because for years, Rey had loved the parents she herself couldn't remember.

When Kylo finally speaks, he reveals what is on his mind. Of course, it's the Force.

"I spent most of my early life being torn apart between warring sides of my family," he says without preamble. "Torn between the pull to Darkness and the call to the Light. Veering first one direction and then another."

"Kylo." Rey sounds very worried. "Are you okay?"

He doesn't answer.

"Vader was the same way. My uncle said that when he first met his father he could sense the conflict within him. That he could sense his father's vulnerability to the Light. My uncle said that gave him the hope that Vader could be redeemed."

"Master Luke told me the same thing," Rey reveals softly.

"Luke Skywalker was wrong. Vader wasn't redeemed." These words come out adamant. For this is the key issue his uncle had gotten terribly wrong. "My grandfather died in the Light before he could be tempted again by the Dark Side. Vader would never have remained permanently in the Light. But my uncle refused to admit that. Because to do so would have meant to admit to the variability in himself."

Kylo finally turns in his chair to face her. He raises vulnerable eyes to Rey now. His expression must alarm her. "Oh, Kylo—" She takes a step closer. Then stops.

"It never ends," he confesses softly. He needs Rey to understand this if only for their son's sake. "I give in to the Dark and I am called to the Light. But even my uncle who was so committed to the Light was tempted by Darkness. The Force is a fluid continuum. And we Skywalkers exist somewhere in the middle. All our lives we exist in temptation one way or the other. My grandfather started in the Light, fell into Darkness, and then returned to die in the Light. I too have been both Light and Dark. And my uncle . . . well, Luke Skywalker had far more Dark tendencies than he cared to admit."

He levels with Rey now, revealing the concern that has been festering for weeks now. "Rey, I know you think that I am obsessed with balance. That I am putting too much pressure on our son. That I am asking too much of him. I guess, I am. But I want to solve this riddle for Titus. We must solve this riddle. He is growing very Dark, very fast."

"It's too much time in your library—"

"It's more than that. Titus has yellow eyes already. He's way too young for Sith eyes. That worries me."

She nods. "I'm worried too."

"You should be," Kylo is blunt. "We have to find the balance of the Force, Rey. To help our son. Darkness in the extreme feeds on itself to consume you. It could destroy him in the end."

Rey says nothing. Her face says it all.

Kylo drags a hand roughly over his hair and then admits. "I need balance for myself, too. For my own sanity and for the stability of the galaxy. I am pulled, Rey. The Light is calling to me again. And I'm afraid to give in—don't you see? Because Skywalkers never flip sides without starting a war. And because I do not want to be in opposition to my own Dark son."

This is what he had sworn to avoid—the patricide of past generations caused by disagreements about the Force. Kylo had stolen back his secret son from Cade Biggs to avoid this problem. But now it seems that in reclaiming his son, he may have created more danger.

Rey nods and Kylo sees right away that she understands the gravity of the situation. Of course, she does. Rey is the only woman in the galaxy who has ever understood him. She knew his Master and his family and she knows the Force. She may not share his politics, but Rey shares things that no one else shares with him. Most importantly, they share their son.

"Some days, I feel like Titus is slipping away," Rey says unhappily. "Like he loves me but he doesn't respect me-"

"I know. It's why he needs to be around the Light and to see the Light in action. Those ancient books in my library are written from the traditional Sith perspective and they are mostly wrong about the Light. The Light is not soft or weak. It takes strength to heal. There is effort in compassion. The restraint in forbearance requires discipline. I know this because I had a formidable Jedi uncle as a teacher and then as a foe. But Titus has never seen a Jedi. He only has you as an example, Rey." And this is where Kylo starts half pleading. "Rey, Titus needs you quite desperately. No matter how much he pushes away, don't give up on him. Please."

"I could never do that. Kylo, you know that. But can this be fixed?" she asks hoarsely. "Master Luke used to say that once you start down the Dark path forever will it dominate your destiny."

"There is some truth to that teaching," Kylo has to concede. "Darkness can be the quick and easy path. Giving in to violence and to hate to solve problems is easier than making peace and listening to opposing points of view. I have ruled the galaxy long enough to learn that firsthand. Darkness comes naturally to Titus. It is his quick and easy path."

Rey's brow furrows now. "These political reforms you want me to come up with—they are not just to keep your stranglehold on power. They are for you too, aren't they? So that your Empire will be less Dark." When he hesitates, Rey follows up. "Titus is not the only one who needs more Light, is he?"

Kylo sighs heavily and turns back around in his seat to face his grandfather's mask. To look upon the one kindred spirit who might have completely understood him.

"I know you go to your grandfather when you need help." Rey steps forward to lay her hands on his slumped shoulders that bear the weight of the galaxy. He and Rey touch so rarely now that he savors it. Kylo reaches his hands up to cover hers. His head bows forward and his eyes close. "I know that you are struggling too, Kylo," she leans down to whisper in his ear. "Let me help. I want to help-"

"Don't. Please," he rasps. "Don't tempt me, Rey. Please . . . don't tempt me further tonight."

"What are you afraid of?"

Her question annoys him and he launches to his feet to break free of her. "You know what I'm afraid of!" he accuses. "I am trying to find a way for us to coexist as friends and allies. But that is hard for me." He slants her a resentful glance. "Hard for me for different reasons than it is hard for you."

"Because you still love me."

Damn her for speaking aloud the secret he regrets revealing that night in her cell. It unleashes some of his bitterness. "You are the Light and you are supposed to heal and to help. But all you have ever done is hurt me, Rey. And I am the Dark who needs to give and to receive love. And you reject it and withhold it. What's wrong with this picture? Why do we keep hurting each other?"

"We are flawed people, Kylo. We are not the archetypes our Force natures suggest."

"Or maybe we just defy categorization," Kylo grumbles.

"Maybe," Rey thinks aloud. "Life is more complicated than absolutes. Black or white, good or evil, Dark or Light. I've watched enough Jedi holochrons to know that the Jedi Order got it wrong in their insistence on reducing everything to simple choices. Being in the Light doesn't mean you are a perfect person. Having good intentions doesn't mean you are making the best choice."

"And being Dark doesn't make you evil." Kylo's voice has a resentful edge.

"No," Rey agrees. "You are many things, Kylo Ren, but you are not evil. But you are very Dark."

He sighs and admits, "Too Dark." Too Dark to be happy. Too Dark to find balance. Too Dark to be loved.

"I can help with that," Rey says softly as she takes a step forward.

He eyes her warily. Like she is a rancor about to pounce on him. "Are you here to seduce me to the Light?"

"I'm here because I'm worried about you. You seem so alone, Kylo. I didn't see that at first. I didn't get much opportunity from my cell. Were you this alone all that time I was with Cade?"

He turns away, ashamed to admit, "Probably more so."

"Oh, Kylo," Rey sighs and her pity stings. "Well, come here. Let me help. I'm your friend and I want to help."

"Help how?" he demands.

"Oh, stop looking at me like some virgin about to be deflowered. I'm here to heal you, not to seduce you, Sith. Take that glove off." Rey gestures to his mechanical right hand. "I know your hand still hurts you sometimes."

"How did you know?" He's surprised she's noticed.

"You do a lot of things lefthanded these days. Maybe, I can help. At the very least, it will give you some Light. Show me-where does it meet your body? Oh, I see. Here, let me roll up your sleeve."

"This is easier." Kylo reaches to unbutton his tunic and strips down to his black undershirt. "Are you sure you're not too tired for this?" he asks, tossing the clothing aside.

"I'll manage. And I need the company tonight."

"Me too. Where do you want to do this?"

She looks into the adjacent room. "There on the couch, I guess."

That works for him. He settles down and she sits next to him, her hands probing gently at the junction of his prosthetic to his arm. "Oh, Kylo, I am sorry for this," she whispers as she looks down. "More sorry than you know."

He gives her a wistful smile. "Sometimes, I think we bring out the worst in each other, Rey." He flexes the mechanism now and its intricate motors softly whir. Rey makes a face and that prompts him to observe. "You hate it, don't you?"

"Yeah, a little," she admits. "I can't look at it and not think of what happened."

"It's ugly. And it feels like a droid without the glove." It's the feel of the prosthetic that creeps women out more than the sight, he's learned. It's why he mostly keeps his glove on all the time. "You left your mark on me, Rey," he gripes ruefully.

She agrees. "Life leaves you with scars. Some fade and disappear, but most don't."

Kylo gives her a small, sad smile now. "You were supposed to wear my scar on your left hand." He would have had a matching one of his own too. But that dream of forever love died many years ago.

"I do wear your scars, Kylo," Rey sighs. "You just can't see them."

"Some are on the wall downstairs," he knows. But instantly, he regrets those words. Rey looks embarrassed. She's always embarrassed by reminders of her meager life on Jakku.

"Let's get started," Rey changes the subject as she summons the Force.

The moment her Light engulfs him, he is temporarily blinded. For her power shimmers in his mind's eye, like sunlight dancing on water. A bright, bold glare against his mind. Here in private, there is no need to contain his reaction. So Kylo throws his head back and surrenders to her Force. "Oh, Gods," he groans aloud. Feeling his body involuntarily shiver with pleasure. "Rey, this feels so good. You don't know how good this feels." In her Light, he finds a temporary offset to his Darkness. It is the ultimate mental and emotional bliss.

"You're going to be stubbing your toe and bringing me hangnails to heal now, aren't you?" she teases.

And it's true. "Yeah. Probably."

Rey nods, her face full of compassion. For she knows, oh how she knows, what this means to him. "I'll do it, Kylo," she promises. "Ask me and I will help you. Don't let it get this bad next time."

"O-Okay . . ." he concedes. He is panting a little now as he shamelessly luxuriates in the Light. This isn't as good as sex with Rey but it's pretty damn close. "What did you think of Stegger?" Kylo wants to know. Maybe if they talk business it will keep his mind off other things. Because when Rey is this close with her hands on him and her Light blazing, it makes him think of one thing . . .

Rey considers a moment. "Actually, Senator Stegger reminds me a lot of you."

What? Really? Kylo opens one eye to peer at her. "Is that an insult to me or to him?"

Rey chuckles. "Cesi is right. Cato Stegger is dangerous. Like you." And calling a Sith dangerous is something akin to flirting. Kylo grins in spite of himself.

"After all these years, you still find me dangerous?" he whispers huskily. And damn, why did he say that?

"We're friends now, remember?" she chides him. "Friends without benefits, Kylo."

So he gets her Light but not her love? Her Force but not her body? "Yes, that's for the best," he has to concede. He won't risk his heart with Rey again. There's no way they will go to bed without it reopening all that same disappointment for him. Rey will never be the woman he wants her to be. But she can still play a crucial role in their family and in his Empire. This friends and allies routine isn't the way he wanted things to be. But it's best that he can get.

"Stop talking. Let me concentrate." Rey too seems to want to keep her mind off these things.

Shutting up seems to promote her skill, he learns. For as Rey focuses more intensely, her Light flares. And, oh Gods, this is amazing. Damn, this Force healing is a rush like no other. It's life affirming, invigorating and intoxicating all at once. There is something primal about it too. This is giving birth and dying at the same time. This is agony and ecstasy. This is the greatest love and the deepest hate. Ying and yang. Oh, fuck, this is balance. And it is everything. Kylo doesn't care if his hand is any more comfortable after this, because the hand isn't what hurts worst these days. It's his love-starved, Light-starved soul. But next time she does this, he's going to ask Rey to skip the amputation and wrap her hands and maybe even her mouth around his-

Suddenly, Kylo realizes he needs to stop. "Rey, you should go," he rasps as he snatches back his hand.

"Okay." Her eyes fly to his. She's confused.

"This only makes me want more," he reminds her. He needs to get by with just the smallest hit of Light he can get away with. Still, he is a greedy Sith and he wants more. More Light and more Rey. But that's a trap, Kylo knows from experience. Because then he will need more.

"Kylo? Are you sure?"

"You should go!" His voice is harsh as he clamps down to regain control. He must learn control with Rey. Lest he ruin the fragile nascent truce they have now. "Go now!" She needs to go now before he drags her to the bed and does something they both will regret.

Rey quickly stands to her feet. "I'm leaving."

"Thank you," he calls after her and the words must surprise because they stop Rey in her tracks. She whirls to face him. "Rey, since we are friends," he adds, "You should know that our door is always unlocked. Come in whenever you want company. Whenever you feel alone." It's a paltry offer to return the favor. But it is sincere all the same. If she will let him, Kylo will help Rey with the chronic loneliness that he knows cripples her soul.

Rey nods at this before she heads to her room. It's hours later before he realizes that on her way out, she left the connecting door wide open.


	33. Chapter 33

When years ago Vanee had worked with the architects to design the Senate building, it had been with the devious Sith in mind. And so the mirrored one-way wall of windows in the expansive office suite of the Senate Chancellor looks out not on the public space of the Senate Rotunda but on the semi-public Senators-and-staff-only meeting hall of conference rooms. Vanee, of course, had known that his boss would be far more interested in what his Senators did behind closed doors than in what they did out in the open. Monitoring these windows from time to time reveals much about the inner workings of the Senate. Which Senators are friends and allies, which Senators are sufficiently interested in a particular issue to attend a meeting, which Senators never show up to participate in anything. It's a subtle thing, but useful all the same. This morning, as usual, the windows reveal something noteworthy as Kylo, Nestor, and Milo stand together watching.

"It's all the usual suspects, I see. Chandrila, Corellia, Plexis, Dowut." Nestor rattles off the names of the homeworlds of the clutch of liberal activist Senators he sees. The men and women greet one another on their way toward a conference room. "There's the new Rebel Alliance right there," Chancellor Flick says sourly.

But Kylo isn't watching the opposition leaders. He's staring at Rey who now comes sweeping in. She's wearing her old black velvet Sith princess cape with the hood thrown back. Milo must have kept it all these years. The cape spreads as it floats stately in her wake, making the large embroidered First Order medallion on the back easily visible. "Look at her," Kylo says softly. "Snoke would have loved this."

"Indeed," Milo concurs by his side. "Our old Master liked to be on every side of every war. My boy, you are keeping up a time-honored tradition here. Darth Plagueis would most definitely approve."

Nestor, however, does not. "You're taking an awful risk, Kylo. This had better work."

"It will." He has faith in Rey. She might not love him, but she will not betray him. Not now.

Their trio watches from afar as Senator Stegger steps forward to be the first among Kylo's enemies to greet the Empress. Nestor shakes his head again. He shoots Kylo a look. "It's very dangerous putting those two together. I don't think Rey can handle it."

Kylo disagrees. "She didn't live through Jakku and the war without using her wits and instincts. Rey is plenty savvy enough. You yourself thought she was great back in the peace negotiations years ago."

"It's not her ability that concerns me. It's her loyalty." His friend is blunt. "Put aside the fact that Rey was Luke Skywalker's Jedi trainee with the Resistance. She cut off your hand, Kylo. And when you stole her back from her life in hiding, you locked her in a cell for months. Look, you know I like her. I always have. And Cesi thinks the world of Rey even though they are two very different women. But Rey's loyalties have always been somewhat suspect and you two are always fighting. So what makes you think Rey will do this reform agenda the way you expect?"

The answer is simple. "The kid. There's nothing she won't do for the kid, Nestor." He knows that Rey wants a better, Lighter future for their kid. But his friend's point is well taken and Kylo is Sith enough to know to be cautious where loyalty is concerned. He turns to Milo to instruct, "Meet her once a week for a briefing. Rey needs to know what we plan and we need to know what she's up to. And drop in on her unannounced from time to time."

"Yes, Master."

"We have her daily schedule. Cesi's girl sends it to my office each morning," Nestor reminds them. "I'll have her send it to you too, Milo."

"Thank you, Chancellor."

The group of Senators with Rey now disappears into the conference room. There is nothing left to see so the men turn away from the windows.

"What is this scheme really about?" Nestor asks him plainly. "Because you could accomplish reform any number of ways without you and I taking a lead role."

"It's my most ambitious venture yet," Kylo reveals, looking smug. "Lasting peace."

Nestor scoffs. "Some Sith you are. Peace is a lie, Kylo. Isn't that how the saying goes?"

"Yes. And I'm going to prove it wrong. I am going to keep this peace, Nestor. We told the galaxy when we founded the Empire that our war was the war to end all wars. Rey is going to help us make that statement true. Her efforts will help us keep the peace."

"That's very Jedi of her," the Chancellor points out dryly. "Kylo, when did you go from killing Jedi to introducing them to your enemies? You're just asking for trouble with this. Look, there's no imminent credible threat to your rule," Nestor points out. "This is overkill."

"Lord Sidious underestimated the strength and appeal of the Rebellion," Milo reminds them both in his quiet way. "As a result, his Empire did not last twenty years."

"If I recall my history, Luke Skywalker ended his Empire." Nestor shoots Kylo a serious warning look now. "It was a Jedi who took down the Old Empire, let's not forget that. So let's be careful that another meddling Jedi doesn't take down the New Empire."

"Nestor—"

"Look, it's over a decade postwar now, so some rumblings in the Core are to be expected," his skeptical Chancellor concedes. "Sure, make some reforms here and there. But we don't need to give these lefties everything they want. Stegger was in here meeting with my chief of staff last week wanting to kick off the new term with a resolution apologizing for Hosnia. He latched on hard to Rey's suggestion for that." First Order true believer Nestor Flick makes a face and shakes his head. "Not gonna happen on my watch."

"Yes, it will," Kylo says softly as he meets his friend's eyes.

"What?" Nestor blinks. Then scowls. "No, Kylo. Just no. Don't go there."

"It won't be a full apology," Kylo makes clear. "The First Order will deeply regret the tragic loss of life on the Hosnia system. Get your legislative lawyers working on the language now. There's no need to even mention the word Starkiller—just refer to it by date."

Nestor is not buying it. "That won't work. Stegger and his cronies will never accept that whitewash-"

"Sure, they will. Especially when the rest of the resolution recites the text of the constitution that abolishes superweapons. We agree to what we've already agreed to, and we regret the unnamed event that happened on Starkiller Day."

"Boss, are you trying to rile up the Rim?"

"No, I'm trying to move on. That's why the emphasis is on the bit about the constitution. We're done focusing on the past. It's time to move on."

The more Kylo thinks about his reform scheme, the more committed to it he becomes. It's good for the galaxy and it's good for him personally. And it's very Sith to use his Light Side pretend wifey as a stalking horse for reform. All in all, this idea has reinvigorated his interest in governing. It's been a long time since Kylo has felt this excited about the future. But now finally there is a reason. There is Titus. And, in some fashion or another, there will be Rey in his life too. And so lately, this Sith has rediscovered his ambition in a big way. It's not in a way that people will expect, but it is in a way that matters. Because Darth Ren won't just rule the galaxy, he's going to rule it well. And with any luck, a little more Light in the universe will help his son to balance the Force.

And then Kylo will have achieved what he has wanted all along. He will rule the galaxy with Rey and his fearsome son at his side. Skywalkers united and supreme. They are the first family of the Force and they are rewriting the old rules as they see fit. The self-taught Jedi married to the enlightened Sith who together raise a child who upends and defies all the old formulations of the Force. But who the fuck cares? Because there is no one left to tell them no. They make the rules now. Kylo is grinning like a fool just thinking about it.

Nestor is not so amused. "What's next, Kylo? Are we going to apologize for the Mid Rim campaign? For the Coruscant Seige? Because during the war, the Resistance killed their fair share, remember?"

"Good point," Kylo allows. "Have the lawyers add a line in the resolution referring to the tragic loss of life on Starkiller Base. That way, both sides can read it and see an apology they like."

Nestor grunts. "You know, that's just the sort of suggestion that Rey would make. Giving both sides something to make them happy."

Kylo rolls his eyes. "Isn't that the point of a compromise?"

"Since when does the First Order need to compromise?" Nestor is still not on board. "As far as I can tell, we are negotiating against ourselves, Kylo."

"Nestor, think of it like the end of the war. We won and we had the power to do anything we wanted, but we gave some concessions anyway. Lots of concessions. Well, now we're pushing the reset button on a few things. They are concessions to our critics now but in the long run they will help us to achieve our goals. Short term loss, long term gain." Kylo now starts giving instructions to his Chancellor. "Have your people start laying the groundwork for this with the Rimmers. When we publicly float this apology idea, I want a chorus of praise from the hardliners. Promise them they can do a day long eulogy for Starkiller Base if that helps. We can make this as much about Starkiller Base as it is about Hosnia, if you want." Emperor Ren now turns to his enforcer. "Milo, make sure they all fall in line."

Nestor is a good soldier and he always follows orders. He can tell the time for debate is done. "We can handle the Senate votes, Boss. But what about public opinion? This might not sit well in all worlds."

"Yes, the PR roll out will be tricky and will need to be handled world by world for the big systems," Kylo thinks aloud. "Rey is the messenger for all of this. We need to keep her poll numbers up. What do they look like now? Do either of you know?"

Nestor answers. "The last I looked, it was a mixed bag. Rey was mostly positive in the Outer Rim where they see her as one of their own, but all her Jedi talk makes her support very soft. The Mid Rim isn't sure what to make of her but they are inclined to think favorably. But in the Core and the Inner Rim, she's got ground to make up. Her progressive views don't seem to cut through the misgivings the public feels about her Palpatine heritage and her Rim past. Some of the focus group stuff was pretty ugly, Kylo. You know how class conscious those worlds are. And Rey . . . well, Rey is Rey. She might have the accent and some of the Upper Level look. But she has none of its upbringing and airs. These girls like Cesi . . . Kylo, none of them has ever been a mechanic who brags about rebuilding a hyperdrive. The housewives here all have PhDs. This is a very over-educated cerebral culture. They talk about abstract art and high fashion while Rey talks about cool ship design and podracing. It's a mismatch."

Kylo nods. He's not surprised. "Get some photographers down here for when Rey's meeting ends. Have them take some candid shots of her looking like an Empress. We can leak them to the press showing who she met with. And tell PR that we need a campaign designed just for Rey in the Core Worlds. This isn't going to work unless Rey is believable and liked in the Core Worlds. We need to build her up so people like her and pay attention."

Nestor nods. "Done, Boss." They are walking out now through the private back exit that allows Kylo to drop by his Chancellor's office undetected. Kylo Ren shows himself very sparingly around the Senate offices. It helps to keep up the charade of independent democracy he portrays to the galaxy.

"You know, we've got a pretty thick file on Stegger from way back," Nestor says casually. "I'll send it to you. You should take a look."

"Don't bother. I don't need to remind myself why I don't like that guy," Kylo grumbles. "Two assassination plots were enough."

"You should take a look," his friend persists. "He's a boy scout save for one vice. And it's a persistent one."

"Yeah? What's that? Alcohol? Spice?"

"No. Women."

Kylo smirks. "Who the fuck cares?"

"You should. He'll be spending a lot of time with Rey."

Oh. Kylo thinks a moment before brushing off this concern. "Stegger wouldn't dare hit on Rey. I'd take his head off."

"You should have taken his head off two years ago," Nestor contends.

Kylo finds this sort of amusing the more he thinks about it. "Rey would never fall for a guy like that. She's not stupid. And she's not one to get her head turned by a pretty face."

Nestor gives him some side eye. "Remember Hux?"

Oh, yeah. "That's different."

"Yeah, it was better. Because at least you and Hux were on the same side, Boss."

* * *

It is dusk when a protocol droid admits Rey into the private apartment of Coruscant's junior Senator, Cato Stegger. She is ushered through an elegant foyer and out onto a spacious rooftop terrace. The Senator himself sticks his head around the corner and gestures to the com he's using. He'll be just a minute, he whispers to Rey. She should make herself at home.

A minute more on a com call is inevitably at least fifteen, Rey knows from her days as Mrs. Cade Biggs. So she cools her heels looking out over Coruscant. This city world is the apex of high culture for the galaxy, be it art, music, or learning. Even its gritty Underworld has a certain style. There is a haughty resilience here too, Rey has discovered. For a stiff upper lip generally typifies these elites. The Coruscantis might be petty and shallow, but they are not soft. This is a world of competitive strivers, after all. Through the years, Coruscant has seen every iteration of government—from the Old Republic to the Old Empire, next the New Republic and now the New Empire. And still this is the bright center of the universe.

In every way, Coruscant is about as far as you can get from Jakku, Rey thinks. It's been a long, strange journey from an AT-AT in the desert to the epicenter of galactic politics and power. But that's what happens when fate has you cross paths with first one Skywalker prince and then another and yet another. But once you become a mother to a Skywalker prince, you forever seal the deal. Whether or not her hand is slashed and regardless of what Kylo's lawyers say, Rey knows that her future is irrevocably intertwined with Kylo Ren's.

The Sith has always had grand plans for her from back when he took her to his temple on Naboo. Back then, Kylo's plans were personal. He promised her everlasting life and everlasting love, the ultimate commitment. A lot has happened in the ensuing years. And now, Kylo's plans are political. She is to be an Empress and a Jedi, a reformer and a teacher, and a custodian of a tradition long gone. This time, Kylo promises her peace and balance, the ultimate achievements in the Force. But, unlike before, this is an offer she cannot refuse. For the fate of her son and the fate of the galaxy hang in the balance. And that's why Rey finds herself alone in the apartment of a man who plots the downfall of her estranged husband. She is here for peace and she is here for Titus.

"A credit for your thoughts." The Senator is off his com now. He breezes over to her with two glasses of wine in his hands. He hands one to Rey. "Cheers," he toasts her and then takes a sip. Rey does the same.

When she doesn't immediately answer, he prompts her, "Well? What are you musing about out here?" He asks this with an easy smile cast over the rim of his glass. In the fading light of the sunset, his chiseled features are highlighted with shadows. It gives the Senator an aristocratic look that is perfectly consistent with his Coruscant Old Money address.

"I was thinking how much the skyline has changed," Rey improvises, searching for something to say. "So many things are new."

He nods. "You're standing in one of the few pre-Clone Wars era buildings left in the Upper Level." He has a slightly wistful expression as he confides, "It seemed fitting to live here. To make my home in a place untouched by the First Order and the Empire."

"You have a beautiful home," Rey says sincerely. She is careful to be nonpolitical in her praise.

"I can accept no credit for it," he laughs. "My ex-wife did all the decorating." Stegger slides up beside her now. They stand shoulder to shoulder sipping wine as they look out at the amazing view. Coruscant in the evening is very pretty with lights from the city world's many transports and towers twinkling.

"I remember you from the war," he tells her softly.

"Yes, I spent time on Coruscant back then. Mostly visiting the internment camps."

"No," he corrects her. "I don't mean during the Siege. I mean with the Resistance. Rey, I remember you from the Resistance."

"Oh?" she raises an eyebrow. "How so?" Because Rey doesn't ever remember meeting him.

"I was a law student when I got recruited to join. My contact's contact smuggled me into one of the main bases one time. He pointed out Luke Skywalker to me. It was in a large hangar bay and there was the Jedi sitting on some storage crates deep in conversation with a mechanic girl. That girl was you, wasn't it?"

"Probably," Rey admits.

"I thought so." Stegger nods and continues his story. "I remember being struck by how ordinary it was. There were people all around doing their jobs and here was a Jedi hero in their midst going mostly unnoticed."

"That was Master Luke's way," Rey explains. "He didn't call attention to himself."

"Still, here was the man who singlehandedly brought down the Empire-the greatest Jedi warrior ever—hanging out with us mortals. It made quite an impression on my younger self. I was pretty star struck, Rey."

"Wars don't make one great, Senator," Rey reprimands softly. "And all of us are mortal. Even Luke Skywalker."

"What was he like as a person? I've always wondered that," Stegger asks eagerly. It's clear that Master Luke is one of his heroes. It's sort of boyishly charming and it makes Rey smile.

She thinks back. "Master Luke was as flawed as the rest of us, I guess. When I knew him, he was disappointed. He wasn't bitter so much as resigned. I think it was a very hard thing for him to see his life's work destroyed."

"I hope you do become a Jedi, Rey." The Senator looks very sincere. "I know the Jedi Order had its flaws, but I have always admired the Jedi. Perhaps they did not live up to their own ideals, but few of us do. And, really, in the end the Jedi were asked to do too much. The Jedi Order should have been reformed by the Empire and not destroyed. You don't throw the good out with the bad."

"I agree," Rey answers with a mechanic's pragmatic assessment. "You don't need to fix everything. You only need to fix what's wrong." And now, she reaches into the handbag slung across her body. Rey is dressed casually, having just come from an afternoon spent healing. When Rey is in public at the hospital, she always tries to blend in like any other mother visiting a sick child. Only her severe chignon betrays that her morning was spent on Snoke's throne.

"I have something for you." Rey hands Stegger a datafile. "It's a preliminary draft and not for dissemination. Cato, I am trusting you to keep this confidential." Rey gives him a warning look. "If this leaks to the holonet, I will know from whom."

The Senator looks intrigued. He plugs the file into his datapad and starts to read. "Did you write this? Where did you get this?" he demands.

"The Chancellor's office wrote it. They've been working on a draft all week."

"It doesn't even say the word Starkiller," Stegger observes as he keeps scanning the text. "And it doesn't admit to any wrongdoing." He frowns and falls silent as he reads the short paragraph again. "This says that the First Order is sorry that bad things happened to both sides. It puts the destruction of the military weapon Starkiller Base on the same moral footing as the loss of the entire Hosnia system. That's preposterous!" His tone says it all. The Senator is not impressed.

"It says that bygones are bygones and that no superweapons will be built in the future," Rey puts her own gloss on the language. "The goal is for this to be a unanimous resolution, Senator. The party loyalists need a reason to vote for this apology too. The language has to appeal across the political spectrum."

"We cannot accept this." Stegger shakes his head at Rey. His handsome feature are set in a frown.

"There is probably some wiggle room on the wording," Rey prods him. "But not much. So don't press your luck. I'm giving this to you now so that you and your caucus won't be caught blindsided when it gets dropped in your lap next week as a fait accompli. Cato, you need to come up with a few select edits and have them ready. You won't get much time to negotiate, I'm afraid."

Stegger is firm. "I won't vote for this. Neither will the rest of the Core liberals."

"Suit yourself, Senator. But know that there won't be a second chance. And know also that the moment you turn down this offer next week, the First Order will leak this text to the holonet to portray themselves as peacemakers. And then you and your friends will become the hardliners on the defensive. Don't you see—either way, the First Order wins."

"But Rey, this isn't even an apology."

"I know." Rey looks him in the eye. "Cato, the only reason you got this far with the Chancellor's office is because Kylo Ren has ties to Alderaan."

"He does?"

"Yes." It's a bit of a reveal, but Rey judges it harmless. "Leader Snoke was the man behind the Starkiller, not Kylo Ren. Snoke wanted a bigger and better Death Star than Palpatine and he couldn't wait to use it."

"Rey, we cannot accept this."

She's not surprised. But she's also not taking that as a final answer. "Don't think about this on a standalone basis, Cato. Think about it as a first step. If you want to move forward on the other items on your agenda, we have to start somewhere. Agreement on this issue might create momentum for agreement on others," Rey counsels, remembering this strategy from her peacemaking days. "This resolution would be a very meaningful way to kick off the new Senate term. It would set a new and different tone."

She must be persuasive because he agrees. "Very well, Empress. I will consider the matter further. And I will keep it confidential," he promises.

"Good." Rey is relieved. "Now," she smiles over at him, "Tell me how you came to be in the Resistance. That is what I'm here for, right? To listen to your war stories." Rey is curious to hear the tale that has lured her to the Senator's apartment. He hesitates and now she worries that she has come across as flippant about a serious matter. She backtracks. "Or maybe you don't want to tell me . . . If so, I'll understand. Cato, when I was with the Resistance, everyone had a story for why they joined. Usually, it was a sad one. I hope your reason isn't a sad one."

"It's not. I was a student at the time," he begins. "Full of lofty ideas about law and justice and fueled with just the right amount of zeal and recklessness to act on them." He looks a bit sheepish now as he talks of his younger self. It's sort of endearing. "I was on an idealistic crusade at the beginning. I was something of a hothead with an axe to grind for civil liberties."

"And at the end?"

He looks away. "At the end, I was like everyone else on this world, Rey. Bereft and bitter. Most of my friends were dead. Some of my family too." Rey watches as he takes a long drink of wine and stares out again at Coruscant. "In some parts of this city now, I don't even recognize the world I grew up on. Many places and many faces are gone."

"I know."

"I was there the day that the First Order stormed Coruscant U," he reveals. "Kylo Ren himself showed up to swing his sword. I watched him decapitate freshman biology majors who didn't even know how to hold a gun. You were right to call it slaughter in that interview, Rey. There is no better word for what I saw." He sighs. "I lost a lot of friends that day." The Senator now gives her an openly curious look. "Tell me Rey-how did a woman like you ever end up married to a power mad brute like Kylo Ren?"

Now it's Rey's turn to be quiet a long moment. "My husband is far more than he seems, Senator," she answers simply. "He is a very complicated man."

"Well, I am no mystery, Empress. What you see is what you get."

Rey very much doubts that. She raises an eyebrow. "So those rumors I've heard about ties to violent extremist groups are false?"

Cato Stegger doesn't bother to deny it. He just shrugs. "I have friends and my friends have friends. I do not police the friends of my friends. And some of my friends are more fervent in their opinions than others."

"That's the nicest way you can explain it," Rey observes dryly.

"Here. Let me refill your glass." He plucks the open bottle off a nearby table to replenish Rey's wine. "Since we are speaking of malicious rumors, dare I ask whether it is true that you and Armitage Hux were a thing during the war?"

"Does that matter?" Rey counters coolly.

"Frankly, yes. But I won't judge you on infidelity to Ren. I'm no saint myself, Rey. I will, however, judge you on your choice of partner. Starkiller Hux is not a hero of mine."

"When I knew Army Hux, he was weak and injured, Cato. There was no affair. We were close friends, that's all." Rey makes a face. "It was misconstrued by some. Well . . . by many."

"I see," Stegger sounds completely unconvinced. "Kylo Ren and General Hux. You have a thing for angry men, don't you?"

His comment surfaces long buried guilt about how things ended between her and Army, so Rey leaps to his defense. She shoots Stegger a resentful look. "There was more to Army Hux than his speeches. Much more."

"What does that mean exactly?" the Senator quizzes her. "How does a man like Ren or like Hux be more than meets the eye?"

"You would have to know them."

He nods. "Will you get to know me, Rey? Can I be more than meets the eye too?"

Rey blinks at this directness. Is he making a pass at her? She answers plainly. "Kylo and Army were both men of ideas and action. They were committed to their convictions and their vision. I did not agree with their means, but I admired their goals, Cato."

He considers this. "So you don't mind a man who gets his hands dirty now and then? If you're okay with war crimes then what's a few arm's length ties to questionable groups?" he counters suggestively. "Because I am also a man of ideas and action. I have the ideas and my friends take the action."

Rey's response is sharp. "I told you the first time we met that I want no part of extremism. I believe in moderation and compromise, Senator. That is the reason I have agreed to work with your caucus to broker reforms."

He steps closer now, ignoring her prim speech. Cato is not as tall as Kylo, so he doesn't loom over her like the Sith. Instead, they are practically eye to eye as Rey stands in her heeled boots. It feels like standing toe to toe with an equal. "You fascinate me, Empress." He says this in a hushed tone. He's watching her very closely. "Your life story is extreme and sketchy at best. Your politics are bizarre given the context. And you have the magic Force, too. None of it adds up. And if it's all true, then you must surely be the most improbable woman ever."

Rey is uncomfortable with this summation and she deflects it. "I'm just an ordinary person who has led an extraordinary life," she hedges. "I'm just a girl from Jakku."

He disagrees. "Oh, there is nothing ordinary about you, Rey. No—don't take offense," he must see her defensiveness. "Rey, you stole my heart the moment you called Kylo Ren an asshole before the entire galaxy. Now, there's the woman for me, I said. Beautiful, brave, and bold. And amazingly well connected-"

"You aim high, Senator," Rey interrupts. She says this in quelling tones as she feels her face flush. Because, yes, Senator Stegger is making a pass at her. Rey is caught off guard. Flattered, of course. But a bit embarrassed too.

He doesn't take the hint. "Stop calling me Senator. It's Cato. I want you to call me Cato." He steps closer still and he's crowding her space the way Kylo tends to. "I want you to tell me your secrets, Rey. Let's start with this-was Hux the only one? Or have there been other men in your life?"

Rey refuses to answer this. She doesn't owe this man any explanations. Especially about her sex life. "I am not looking for a lover," she shoots him down preemptively. "And you should know that my husband is the jealous type."

"Now you are even more dangerously sexy," he purrs and then grins at her startled reaction.

Rey takes a big step back. Stegger needs to stop. But, of course, he doesn't. Men like this never know when to stop.

"You must know that your husband has had a slew of women over the years. That old assistant of his who meddles in the Senate procures them. I have colleagues who make their blonde wives and daughters color their hair brunette in hopes they will be chosen for the Emperor's bed. Kylo Ren always chooses brunettes. I guess I know why now." Stegger cocks his head as he suddenly realizes, "It wasn't always a political marriage, was it? The Chancellor's wife was right and it was love once, yes?"

"I am not looking for a lover," Rey repeats firmly.

"Did you break his heart or did he break yours?" Stegger's eyes narrow as he decides, "He broke yours, didn't he? The young uneducated orphan Rim girl fell for the great Kylo Ren. He married you to solidify his claim to rule and then he moved on. Did he ever appreciate anything about you other than the Force?"

"You don't know what you are talking about." Rey is annoyed and sort of angry now. This has gone on long enough. Maybe an urbane sophisticate like Cesi Flick would enjoy this sort of attention and handle it with cool aplomb, but Rey just feels uncomfortable. She's never been good at flirting because her personality is far too direct. The dance that is social banter has never been her thing. So true to form, she complains, "Can we talk about something else now?"

He backs down. "I have offended you, I see. Please accept my apologies. I meant no offense. It's just that you intrigue me so. The whole galaxy is intrigued by you. I can't help it but be the same."

Rey reverts to business now. "If you have suggestions to the resolution language, let me know. I can pass them along. But make them sparingly," she urges.

"Oh, don't be like that, Rey," Cato starts to cajole her now. "Say that you forgive me. I want us to work together as friends. I meant what I said in your office. Rey, you could be an important voice for freedom."

"Senator—"

"Cato. I want you to call me Cato."

"Fine. Cato, I want to fix what's wrong with the Empire. I want to make positive, meaningful change. This relationship is strictly business."

"Understood, Empress." He bows low as he says this, but Rey doesn't miss the mocking gleam in his eye. He's enjoying how flustered she has become.

"Goodnight, Senator," she says frostily as she offers him her glass.

"Goodnight," he replies. He walks her to the door and then bows again. "Rey," he catches her attention as she starts to leave. "If you change your mind, I will be waiting."

* * *

She's back.

Kylo is very attuned to Rey's Force imprint. He can feel her presence when she is anywhere on his capital world. And tonight, he feels keenly Rey's approach to the palace. He amuses himself by tracking her progress through the Force. He knows the moment she enters the building, when she turns down the final hall to their rooms, and the second she reaches to open her door. Their connecting door between their bedrooms is wide open as usual these days, so Kylo hears her moving around as she winds down for the night. Rey is a creature of habit so it's always the same. _Clunk_. There goes one shoe. _Clunk_. There goes the other. Now the closet door opens and Rey must be taking off and hanging up her clothes. And here comes the best part of his day, Kylo thinks. He positions himself to stand just out of view of the doorway but at the perfect line of sight for what comes next.

Rey wanders back into the bedroom wearing only her bra and panties as she yanks at the pins in her hair. Rey stands there a moment with her hands busy taking down her elaborate coiffure, littering the pins she finds haphazardly on a table. There. The hair is down and now Rey is shaking it out and combing it through with her fingers in a tousled sexy mess. Gods, this is hot. But it gets better. Wait for it . . . wait for it . . . Yes. She reaches to undo her bra. Apparently, the day is done when Rey takes off her bra. Fuck, yeah. Kylo takes a long sip of his beer as he savors this moment. Yep, this is great. She stands there unaware she is being watched, wearing only her panties. Her small breasts with big nipples are stark naked and on display. Her hair streams everywhere and she still has the smudged remnants of the day's makeup still on. It's so fucking hot. But it lasts only a few seconds before Rey pulls on a pair of yoga pants and a loose t-shirt she must have bought on one of her Coruscant adventures. This one is emblazoned with the cheeky slogan 'I'm Rim to the Core.' And that too makes him smile.

Normally, he sneaks away at this point, but not tonight. Tonight, he maybe just happens to accidentally on purpose wander by the open doorway with his com in his hand. And, yeah, he might be pretending to be finishing up a work call as he absently paces the room speaking a little too loudly so there's no way she can't hear. Hopefully, she's getting the gist as he pretends to pardon some innocent man. He's Darth Ren the Just, after all. Being just and merciful to get the attention of his estranged wife next door.

It works. By the time he pretends to end the pretend com, Rey is standing in her doorway, leaning up against the wall watching him.

"Working late?" she asks casually.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I guess." He clicks off the com and tosses it over on the bed. "You're back."

"Yeah. How's the hand?" Rey asks as she looks him over. Kylo has his shirt off but his right glove still on and she's noticed. Wearing the glove is a habit he's fallen into over the years. He is self-conscious about the prosthetic where women are concerned. One too many of his Snoke girls had recoiled from it in horror.

"My hand?" At the mention of his hand, Kylo flexes it. "Yea, it's a little better." It's actually a lot better. But he doesn't want Rey to know that. He doesn't want to dissuade her from healing it again.

She frowns at this answer. "Okay, well, I want to work on it again sometime when you're ready. But then I'm smoothing that scar."

"The scar?" He reaches to finger the remnants of the lightsaber slash Luke Skywalker had given him years ago on Crait. And, actually, Kylo has never minded that particular mark. "I kind of like the scar. Every Sith should have a scar they got from a Jedi," he tells her. In the moment, Kylo is all boastful, arrogant Sith. Then, he shrugs. "Besides, I wear a mask. No one sees it."

"I see it," Rey informs him quietly. "And I hate that mask."

"I remember." She's always hated his mask.

Rey looks at him curiously now. "Why do you still wear it? You don't need it. Not anymore."

Rey is right. He's not a pimply teenager given responsibility way beyond his years who needs a mask to hide his youth. He's not a runaway Jedi Padawan son of Rebellion heroes who needs to hide his connection to the enemy. He's not a young man struggling to live up to his Sith family legacy who needs to emulate Darth Vader. Kylo knows he hasn't needed the mask for years. But somewhere along the way, the mask became a crutch and then part of his identity. And it's sort of comforting now. Putting on his mask is akin to putting on his game face. It's part of the uniform of the Sith Emperor Ren.

So, he shrugs at Rey. "It's my brand. I am Kylo Ren and the mask is Kylo Ren."

"Alright," she rolls her eyes and smiles a little. "You can keep the Sith mask and you can keep the Sith scar."

"So . . . do you do wrinkles?" he asks her now with what he hopes is a teasing smile. "Because I've got some wrinkles. Can you heal those?"

"Really? Where?" she squints up at him.

"I love you for not noticing," he laughs.

"I'm serious. Where?"

"The eyes." He points to his crows feet. "Here and there around the eyes."

She peers up at him and it's weirdly odd to be this close to Rey without kissing her. "Yeah, I see them now. Nah," she decides. "Those are good on you. You should keep them. Crinkly eyes are sort of sexy. You know—distinguished looking."

"That's another word for old," he gripes.

Rey laughs out loud. "Distinguished is another word for powerful and old."

"Well, now, you're talking. Talk to me more about power, Rey," he goads. He's a Sith after all.

She ignores him. "You know, I've never tried fixing wrinkles. Maybe I should. I've got a few of my own. Although . . . " She thinks a moment. "Vanity might be an inappropriate use of Force healing."

What? "There are no restrictions on use of the Force," he admonishes her. He's serious. "Nothing you could do with the Force would ever be inappropriate, Rey."

She gives him a knowing look. "So says the Sith."

"There are no rules for the Force. Not anymore." He had killed Luke Skywalker to drive home that point. And now Kylo gets around to the question that he has been dying to ask but hoping Rey would volunteer instead. But she hasn't. So he's asking. "Where were you tonight?"

"Did you miss me?" she counters.

Yeah, he did. He's quickly become very used to Rey being around. This is the downside of not insisting that she have security at all times. Because then he would know exactly where Rey is. "It was a little like you were back in a cell again," he confesses. "Where were you?"

She is vague. "I had a meeting after I went to the hospital to heal. It ran long."

"You're the Empress of the galaxy. You don't have to work late, you know," he tells her. "People work around your schedule. And Coruscant wasn't built in a day, Rey. I don't want to rush this reform agenda. The longer it plays out in the press, the better. I want maximum saturation for when my Empress swoops in to save the day with her moderate compromise."

"It was no big deal," she brushes off his concern. "It was on the way home anyway." She cranes her head to the side. "What are you watching?"

Watching? "Huh?" Oh yeah, he left the holonet on in the other room. Its reflection shows in a window. "Oh, I don't know. Just some show." Kylo plays dumb. As if he hasn't been caught binge watching alone.

But Rey has moved past him to peer at the screen in the other room. "You watch this? I would never have guessed. I mean, the historical setting is very you, Kylo. But I would never have pegged you for a nighttime soap opera kind of guy."

"Good call," he says gruffly in his lowest, most manly voice. "Because I'm not into melodrama."

She raises an eyebrow at this.

Then he equivocates because she actually looks a little disappointed. "I only watch it for the historical time period. And I only saw the first few episodes of the first season. I read it was downhill after that . . . I lost interest . . . " He is making excuses. Does it sound like he's making too many excuses?

"This is the first season," Rey observes as she marches to stand before the screen and he follows. "I recognize this episode. This is right before the clone deserter finally hooks up with the Separatist slave girl. They were such a great couple. I loved it when they ran away together. And then he dies saving her from the battle droid in season two. Yeah . . . that was sad. But epic sad."

"I haven't watched season two," Kylo glares at her.

"Oh, whoops," Rey looks sheepish. "Er . . . spoiler alert?"

"Too late." He glares again.

"Okay, so remind me what's going on in this episode," Rey commands. "Because I love this show." She unceremoniously plops down on his couch next to his two empty beers and bowl of slightly burnt popcorn. She immediately makes herself at home and starts munching. "Remind me because I don't remember. I watched all three seasons and they sort of run together in my mind now."

Okay, this is good. He'll play along. Kylo settles down next to Rey and fills her in. "So the Senator has just met his long-lost Jedi daughter, only neither of them know it because the Senator and his wife gave her up to the Jedi at birth. The daughter is the Republic general who-"

"Unfairly demoted the clone deserter," Rey finishes for him. "Yeah, I remember this now. And the Jedi general lady is secretly working with the Separatists because her Master's Master was Count Dooku back when he was a Jedi. Right?"

"Right."

"So where are things now with the Senator and his wife? Has she had the affair with the smuggler yet?"

"Affair?"

"Whoops!" Rey ducks and hides. "Uh . . . spoiler alert . . . "

"Rey," he complains, "you are ruining it." He's sincerely annoyed. "You are banned from watching the holonet with me, spoiler girl," he decrees.

"Sorry." Rey really does look contrite for a moment until she can't hold a straight face and she starts laughing at him. "All this from the man who doesn't like melodrama. Do you want me to leave?"

No, he doesn't. "Alright. You can watch, but you can't spoil it," he admonishes her sternly. "And you can't eat all my popcorn." To illustrate his point, Kylo grabs the bowl back and it spills a little.

"I'm hungry," Rey talks with her mouth full. "Got any more beer?" She stands up and starts looking around. "Where do you keep the popcorn and beer?"

"There's a kitchenette in the back." He waves her in the right direction.

She finds it and starts rummaging around. "Kylo," she calls out to him, "This is stocked just like the galley on your old shuttle was stocked minus all those protein shakes Nestor would drink. Some things never change, I guess." She roots around some more. "Wow, Kylo, this is some serious junk food. Did you buy all the processed carbs in Coruscant?"

"Don't nag," he orders. He's not about to be henpecked Nestor Flick who is forbidden to eat sugar. He's the Emperor of the galaxy and he will damn well eat whatever he wants.

Rey reemerges now carrying a beer for each of them and a box of cookies. "I'll share," she offers him a beer and the cookies.

"Those are mine," he retorts. "I'm the one who is sharing."

"Oh, right. Well, thanks. I couldn't find a bottle opener though—"

"No need. I'll open," he answers as he yanks off his right glove. Rey watches fascinated as he expertly flicks the bottle top off a beer with his mechanical steel thumb.

"Damn, Kylo, is it a can opener too?" she teases.

"Very funny." He shoots her a look. "This is all your fault. But this thing has its uses."

"Yeah? Like what else?"

He's about to give her an off-color reply when he thinks better of it. He doesn't want to ruin this. This feels like old times on his star destroyer during the war. He'd be drinking beer and fielding messages on his datapad with Rey curled up next to him on the couch watching whatever escapist show she could find. She'd be wearing one of his old undershirts and panties and he'd be dressed as he is now stripped down to his pants. In those days, he and Rey could have been any young couple on the _Finalizer_. Tired and stressed after a day's work and looking for a break from war. And here they are years later doing pretty much the same thing. Only there's no war.

It's nice.

"Here, you have the popcorn. I just want the beer," he decides as she reaches a greedy hand over to dip again into the bowl.

"Thanks. I missed dinner and I'm hungry." Rey has put her beer down and now she's two-fisting cookies and popcorn. "Cato just wanted to drink."

"Cato?" Kylo's eyes narrow. Because, of course, he knows Stegger's given name.

"Yeah, I dropped by Senator Stegger's place on the way back from the hospital. He wanted to tell me about his time in the Resistance over a drink."

"He couldn't tell you that in his office?" Kylo cross-examines. "You had to go to his apartment?" He's remembering Nestor's warning. Instantly, Kylo doesn't like the idea of Rey drinking alone with Stegger in his apartment.

Rey shrugs. "I guess not." She sees his skepticism and complains, "Oh, come on, Kylo. People don't exactly like to crow about their treasonous past steps away from your office. You might march in with your sword and do an impromptu Empire Day right then and there."

"With Stegger, it's very tempting," he admits. "What else did he talk about besides his heroism in the Resistance?"

"I showed him the draft wording for the Hosnia resolution that Milo wanted me to leak."

"What did he think?"

"He wasn't a fan. I'm sure he will want some improvements."

Kylo groans. "Typical. Once you start appeasing those leftist assholes, it's never enough." He slants a glance over at Rey as she stuffs more food in her mouth. Gross as it is to see her unconsciously revert to her old Jakku ways, it's sort of endearing too. It betrays how comfortable Rey is around him since she can be her most sloppy self. Here sits his Empress, barefoot and braless in a t-shirt and yoga pants snacking on junk food and watching the holonet. And, actually, it's so homey and easy that Kylo is charmed.

He decides now to impugn his enemy's character some. 'Cato' is not sitting well with him. So Kylo mentions offhand, "You know, Stegger has a lot of women. He's notorious for his women."

"Yeah?" Rey raises an eyebrow and then skewers him, "Like you, Kylo?"

Ouch. Well, he may have deserved that. But whatever. This is not about him. This is about throwing shade at Stegger. "Yeah, like me. Probably more than me. Definitely more than me. Because I didn't keep a girl all the time, Rey. You should know that it wasn't all the time . . . " And, fuck, there he goes again making it about himself again. "Anyhow, the point is that Cato Stegger is a player."

"Yes, I could definitely see that," Rey says vaguely and it does nothing to cool his alarm.

Kylo is stern now. "Well, you should watch yourself around him. Let me know if he starts bothering you. If he does, I'll set him straight. Stegger is a player Rey," Kylo repeats. "Nestor and Milo have all the details if you want to know."

Rey shrugs. "I don't. That's his business."

And that's the best sort of answer, Kylo thinks. Because it sounds like Rey doesn't care about Stegger's women because it is irrelevant to her. He drops the subject to quit while he's ahead. Kylo reverts to talking about the holonet show now. "So is this Bothan dude really a spy?" he wants to know as he points to the character on the screen.

"I thought you didn't want any spoilers—"

"Is he?"

"Yes."

"That's so cliché. A Bothan spy. It's like how every Muun on the holonet is a rich banker."

"And every Twi'lek is a slave girl."

"Yep. And if you're from Mandalore, you are ready to drop everything to fight to the death for the honor of your ancient warrior heritage."

Rey laughs. "But first they make a big grandiose speech after they fly in on a jetpack. Mandalorians always wear jetpacks. It's like wookiees with purses. Wookiees always wear purses."

"It's not a purse. It's a bandolier." Kylo thinks a moment. "I guess these old tropes exist for a reason. People understand things they can put into categories. It gives things context. It meets expectations too."

"Like a tall Sith ruling an Empire in a black cape and mask?" Rey says softly.

"Yeah."

"You know, I don't really fit into any category," Rey says ruefully. It's her insecurity talking. "That was very frustrating for the PR guys when they tried to prep me for that interview. First, I was too Rim on something. Then, I was too Core."

Thinking back to Nestor's observations about Rey's poll numbers, he knows that she is right. But it doesn't matter to him. "There's no one quite like you, Rey. I love that about you," Kylo confesses.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You'd be boring if you just told me what I want to hear all the time. You always keep me guessing. Will you watch season two with me?"

"Yeah, okay. I love this show."

"Me too."


	34. Chapter 34

"Do I have the right office for Senator Stegger?" Rey presents herself to the instantly surprised assistant waiting at a desk.

The woman shoots to her feet. "E-Empress," she stammers and then she starts to take a knee.

Rey finds all this bowing and scraping to be tedious and annoying. But it's what Kylo clearly expects so everyone assumes that she does too. But, actually, she doesn't. Rey is far too egalitarian for the role she is expected to play. Finally, Rey had spoken to Milo about it and he reluctantly conceded that she could change the official protocol as she saw fit. As a result, Vanee's people have published a ridiculously worded updated protocol memorandum for how to address the Empress. It boils down to this: stand when she approaches, but don't kneel unless Rey is in the presence of the Emperor or she is sitting on Snoke's throne. Vanee had firmly balked at permitting anyone but her intimates to call her Rey, so they settled on 'ma'am' or 'my lady' for her usual address. That has cut down on all the excessively fawning 'your Excellency' business.

Negotiating the protocol memorandum with Milo had turned out to be almost as difficult as agreeing on the final wording for the Starkiller resolution. Milo had held firm that Rey should be addressed and treated the same as Kylo in order for her to be perceived as an equal. Cesi had argued back that these changes were perfectly consistent with Rey's more casual, accessible public demeanor. And Vanee had just shrugged. Lord Vader found all this formality to be annoying too, he reminded Milo. His old Master had always wanted to dispense with the pleasantries.

But the poor woman Rey stands before now has apparently not gotten the memo. Rey waves off her attempt to kneel. "Thank you, but there's no need. Save that for my husband."

The flustered assistant now fairly leaps from behind her desk to usher Rey into the Senator's office. "Go right in, your Excellency. He is just finishing up with a school group now."

"The Senator visits with school children?" That is unexpected and it makes Rey smile. "Oh, yes, it's Wednesday, isn't it? I forgot. At the palace, we receive our school kids on Wednesday too," she tells the nervous woman. But when Rey marches into Cato Stegger's private office, there are no primary school students in matching uniforms. These are college age kids. And they include a very familiar face.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," the Senator waves a hand to beckon Rey into the room. "We have a special visitor this morning, friends."

Rey tears her eyes from the shocked looking Malia Biggs who is standing in the back of about a dozen college kids. "G-Good morning, everyone," Rey automatically slips into gracious princess mode. All that princess work from years ago has become her default public persona when she meets with strangers. The college kids all look at one another, as if unsure what to do next. Finally, one of them starts to kneel and the others follow suit. And so, once again, Rey smiles and shakes her head. "There's no need to kneel to me. But thank you for the gesture." Then she turns to Cato. "Senator, I was in the neighborhood and thought I would drop by to deliver you something myself." She holds up between two fingers the datafile with the latest draft of the Starkiller resolution.

He gives her a laughing smile. Cato Stegger smiles a lot, she's noticed. He has a politician's practiced charm, and he is always on. "Yes, we will get right down to business, Empress. But first, come meet my visitors from Coruscant University. These students are organizing a protest march for next week."

"Oh? What are you protesting?" Rey asks.

A young man up front answers. "We are demanding release of information on missing war detainees."

"This will be a peaceful march?" Rey asks point blank. She's never been one to mince words. Sometimes, she's noticed, people find it off-putting.

But Cato Stegger has come to expect it. "Naturally," he answers swiftly. "Come, meet Professor Arnold, Chair of the Political Science department. He is the faculty sponsor for this group."

A bookish sort of man in his middle years steps forward to nod at her. "Empress."

Rey shakes his hand. She shakes a lot of hands these days. "You are only the second professor I have ever met," she reveals. "My other acquaintance was a Coruscant U man too. He was a history professor named Aleppo Berman who I met years ago during the war."

"Aleppo Berman?" the Professor asks in clear surprise. "Professor Berman was something of a mentor of mine. He is one of several faculty who are included among the missing local detainees." The man looks uncomfortable now. "We have heard through back channels that Professor Berman is dead," he says quietly.

Rey nods in sympathy, "May the Force be with him."

Cato Stegger inserts himself into the awkward silence that follows. "Students, introduce yourselves." And they do, going one by one around the room including Malia Biggs in the back. Rey welcomes them all. She smiles tentatively at Malia, but the girl doesn't smile back. Rey is not surprised. But she can't let on to their relationship in this setting, especially in front of Stegger.

But Rey is not one to waste an opportunity, so she tries another tactic. "When is your march for detainees?" she asks. "Maybe I will come. I too would like the records on missing detainees to be released."

Professor Arnold looks a little shocked by her offer. "We would be honored if you would join us," he chokes out stiffly.

"Good," Rey smiles. "Please call my office with the details, Professor. I will see if I can drop by."

Then, Stegger's assistant marches in to usher out the Professor and his students and now it's just Rey and Cato left alone.

"Are you really going to a protest rally, Empress?" The Senator raises his eyebrows at her as he crosses his arms and looks Rey over with amusement. "Don't get me wrong—I honor the sentiment. But student groups are not known for their verbal restraint, you know. There will be a lot of passionate speeches." Rey just shrugs at this. In response, Cato cocks his head at her and grins. "Actually, you might like it. It will remind you of your old fire eating beaux General Hux."

Rey ignores this comment. Instead, she presents Stegger with the datafile. "Here is the final wording on the Starkiller resolution. Cato, I think your changes are real improvements. This is good. This is really good. I think you're going to like it," she says hopefully. "Now, I just need you to ensure that our support is unanimous among your friends. The Chancellor is insisting that this resolution be unanimous. He and Milo are selling it to the party loyalists at a meeting this afternoon."

"Oh yes, the old good cop/bad cop routine of Chancellor Flick and the Emperor's representative." Cato accepts the datafile and shoots Rey a look. "That old guy Milo is a very polite thug."

'Milo' and 'thug' are two words Rey would never put in the same sentence. But she holds her tongue. The secret to getting along in contentious settings is knowing when to stay quiet, Rey has learned. On Jakku she learned to pick her battles and that is lesson she uses everyday now in Coruscant's corridors of power.

"That file also includes the latest polling data," she continues. "The trial balloon the First Order floated earlier this week is getting a lot of positive response here in the Core. Your constituents are going to like this, Cato. It will boost your approval ratings for sure."

"I like the sound of that," he nods. "Idealist that I am, I am not above a little self-interest, Empress." Then he plugs the datafile she has brought into his datapad to look at the new wording. As he reads, he remarks offhand, "You know, Rey, this is not how this usually works. The Empress is supposed to summon me to her office to give me a grand speech and bestow upon me the new wording that is an offer I cannot refuse." He looks up to catch her eye. "At the very least, you might have sent a messenger with this file."

Rey raises her chin at this. She's a little annoyed by what she perceives as implicit criticism of her casual style. "I don't do what people expect. Haven't you figured that out by now?"

"Yes, you are a delightful mystery, Rey," Cato responds easily. Then he sets the datapad aside and gives her a strange look. "Tell me, where were you on Starkiller Day? It's one of those days that people remember. Everyone knows where they were and what they were doing when they heard the Hosnia news. I was in a law school exam when it happened. I'll never forget that day." Cato makes a face at the awful memory.

Rey debates a moment before opting for the truth. "I was in conference room on a Resistance starship meeting with Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker. An aide interrupted General Organa and we turned on the newsfeed. The Resistance learned of Hosnia the way everyone else did. From the holonet." Cato Stegger is watching her closely. It makes Rey worry that he thinks she is telling lies she thinks he wants to hear. "It's the truth, Cato. The ship we were on jumped to D'qar and from there we barely made it out alive as the First Order arrived."

"Wasn't your husband the man leading the First Order troops on D'qar?" he asks, sounding slightly incredulous.

Rey sighs. "Yes, he was. In retrospect, things might have turned out better had I stayed behind and given myself up. But that would have been a big risk. The First Order shoots first and asks questions later. You don't hang around in a firefight if you want to live."

"Yes, I know." Stegger looks at her with newfound respect. "So you did really conspire with Luke Skywalker after all? That was what the treason charge on Empire Day was about? The palace has been very cagey with the press about all that, Rey."

"I knew Luke Skywalker," she admits. "It's true that the Jedi taught me the Force. But I refused to conspire with him. Not that it mattered." Rey is glum about how it all turned out. "In the end, both sides considered me to be a traitor."

The Senator gives her a measuring look now. Then, he asks quietly, "Is it true that you championed the new habeas corpus laws from arguing with Ren in your prison cell?"

"Who told you that?" Rey's eyes narrow.

"The palace leaks like a sieve, Empress. Remember that."

She will. But Rey is astute enough to suspect that the only leaks that occur are deliberate. The ruling triumvirate of Kylo, Nestor, and Milo very carefully control the mosaic of information they provide about her and everything else. They know when to make a strategic reveal and when to muddy the pot to keep everyone guessing.

"Well?" Cato raises an eyebrow. "Do we have you to thank for ending the disappearance of political dissidents?"

Rey brushes off this praise. "It was an idea raised long ago. Finally, the climate was ripe for change." She looks away now. "Unfortunately, I myself did not get the benefit of those reforms. Instead, I ended up on my knees on Empire Day."

But Stegger disagrees. "You got better than a habeas hearing. You got a complete pardon and the job title Empress. Ren pardons you. Ren listens to you. And according to the Chancellor, Ren has been listening to you for some time." Stegger gives her an approving look. "Empress, you are a very intriguing woman. Sometime you must share with me your secrets of persuasion for Kylo Ren."

He says this in a suggestive way that makes her uncomfortable. Stegger has a habit of doing this every so often. They'll be having a perfectly normal conversation and then Cato will slip in one of these comments laced with innuendo. Rey responds the way she always does. She ignores it and reverts to the topic at hand. And so now, she gestures to his datapad. "How do you like the new language?" she asks.

He scans the revised text again. "It's not perfect, but we can live with it. Rey, we are agreed. Tell the Chancellor's office that I will get the others in my caucus to agree." Stegger looks at her now with sincere gratitude. "This wouldn't be happening without you, I know. A few months ago, I would never have believed there would be a unanimous resolution on the Starkiller to kick off the new Senate term. Well done, Empress. Well done."

Rey breaks into a genuine smile at this praise. "Cato," she promises. "We can build on this. This is just the beginning."

He nods thoughtfully and then repeats himself. "Empress, you are a very intriguing woman."

Finalizing the Starkiller resolution has Rey on an emotional high all day. Maybe this Empress thing will be enjoyable after all, she thinks. Maybe she will help make a difference by shepherding Kylo's reforms. When years ago she had envisioned being the Empress, Rey had always allowed her insecurities to overwhelm her. And those were rational fears, for there are clear drawbacks to this job. But now, she is beginning to realize that Kylo might be right. She is in a unique position to broker positive changes. Her Resistance background gives her credibility with the First Order's skeptical opponents. And while she by no means dictates to her husband, it is true that Kylo listens to what she says. She is one of a handful of people with that sort of access and influence. And so, as long as she can continue to do things the way Rey likes—whether it comes to dress or schedule or style—she can get comfortable with this gig. And truthfully, that is a very welcome surprise.

Later that night, she's with Kylo and Titus eating dinner and listening as they talk about the Force. Father and son are both so obsessed with the Force. It's one of the many ways they are alike. But unfortunately, it's the only way they relate to one another. Titus is complaining again about having to learn the Light and, as usual, Kylo is bluntly unsympathetic.

"Tough shit, kid. It's your lot in life. I had to conquer the galaxy. You have to balance the Force. Suck it up. There are worst things, trust me."

"Yeah? Why don't you do it?" Titus grumbles. He chafes under his father's enormous expectations and has no problem admitting to it.

"I would if I could. But I can't," Kylo retorts. This is a sore point for him, Rey knows. "Besides, I can't do everything around here. You need to pull your own weight and live up to your potential, kid."

"How do you even know it's possible?" their son argues back. "Was that prophesy even written down? Because I've never seen it in your library."

"Of course, it was written down. Just not by the Sith." Kylo now gets that piously reverent look on his face which he gets when he speaks of the Skywalker clan. Darth Ren solemnly recites:

 _In the time of greatest despair,_

 _a child shall be born_ _  
_ _who will destroy the Sith_ _  
_ _and bring balance to the Force._

"What's that from?" Rey asks.

"Jedi teaching," Kylo answers. "There are a couple of different versions of the wording. But that's the one most commonly used. The Chosen One was also referred to in the Jedi Journal of the Whills too. My uncle made me memorize the passage." And now again, Kylo speaks the teaching he learned as a child:

 _First comes the day  
Then comes the night.  
After the darkness  
Shines through the light.  
The difference, they say,  
Is only made right  
By the resolving of gray  
Through refined Jedi sight._

Rey catches Titus' eye and she sees him smirk. And now she starts to sputter and giggle. "Wow. That isn't epic poetry. It's more like epically bad poetry," she laughs. "Kylo, that sounds like a Jedi nursery rhyme."

Titus is snickering too. "What's next, Master? 'Hickory, dickory, dock, my lightsaber cuts through a clock—'"

"No, no, Titus," Rey chortles as she interrupts to improvise. "It's 'Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, Catch old Yoda by his toe, If he squawks, let him go—'"

"I'm not laughing. Can you see that I'm not laughing?" Kylo shoots them both a stern look for their irreverence. No one makes fun of the Force to Kylo Ren. But he reluctantly concedes, "I think something got lost in the translation. Plus, the Jedi liked things simple. I think it's supposed to be profound in its simplicity."

Titus grins at his mother as he speaks more blasphemy. "The itsy, bitsy, padawan climbed up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed that Jedi out—"

"No! I've got it!" Rey interrupts again. "Humpty Dooku sat on a wall, Master Dooku had a great fall . . . to the Dark Side—"

"You want some lightning?" Kylo is not amused. "Because I can give you both some Force lightning right now. I'm itching to give you both some Force lightning right now." He especially scowls at his son. "You are the Chosen One! So wipe that smile off your face. This is serious stuff." Darth Ren takes the Force very seriously and woe be to anyone who does not.

"Okay, okay, we'll stop," Rey stifles another giggle at Kylo's orthodoxy. "So is there a Sith version of this prophecy?" Rey is curious. "How does it go?"

Titus smirks and in the moment he looks just like his father. "It goes like this, Mom. 'Peace is a lie and the Chosen One is a Jedi lie.'"

"There is no Sith version," Kylo answers in quelling tones. He shoots his son a sharp look. "The Chosen One is a Jedi prophesy."

"Isn't that odd?" Rey wonders aloud. "I mean, if this is a truth of the Force, shouldn't both sides have seen it coming? The Sith saw the future too, right?"

Kylo shrugs. "Snoke saw it coming. He created the original Chosen One."

"Why?" Rey asks. Now that she has heard the actual words of the prophesy, this isn't making sense to her. "Why would a Sith want to create a child who would ultimately destroy the Sith?" This is the first time Rey has ever contemplated this issue. "Kylo, why would Snoke do that?"

"Why else?" he smirks. "Power. He who controls the Chosen One controls the Force."

This still isn't hanging together for Rey. "Why wouldn't Snoke just plan to kill the Chosen One if they were a threat to his power?"

"Power," Kylo repeats himself. "Snoke had long ago mastered Darkness. He had moved on to trying to control the Light too. He was like Vader hoarding his holochrons, Rey. Darth Plagueis wanted all the power—the Dark and the Light."

"And that was worth the risk of being destroyed?" Titus wonders.

"Snoke read that part of the prophesy figuratively," Kylo explains. "He thought destroying the Sith meant that the old ways would fall away as what it meant to rule the Darkness continued to evolve. Snoke thought of himself as new breed of Sith-a reformer and an innovator in the fashion of Bane."

Titus, who has spent long hours reading the old texts, sounds thoughtful as he agrees, "We are already very different from the Sith of old."

"Yes, and that was part of the breach between Darth Sidious and Darth Plagueis," Kylo tells his son. He has lapsed back into that patient teaching tone he gets when speaking of the Force. "Sidious was a Sith of the old school. He was fully committed to Bane's Rule of Two and the cycle of murder for ascension from Apprentice to Master. Sidious bristled under the idea of remaining the Apprentice for life. He outright rejected my Master's theories of balance. Especially the part about how growing too Dark had its risks."

"But Snoke still called himself a Sith," Rey points out. "You call yourself a Sith, too. Even if you are this new school Sith."

Titus is puzzling through this issue too. And he takes it to the logical conclusion. "So . . . since I'm the Chosen One who will destroy the Sith, does that mean I'm supposed to kill you? Because you're the only Sith left to destroy, Master."

"Titus!" Rey speaks sharply. "You can't kill your own father. Whatever the prophesy says, you cannot do that!"

Kylo laughs out loud. "Is that your way of saying you have first dibs, Rey?"

She makes a face. "There has been enough killing in this family," Rey loudly decrees.

"I agree," Kylo concurs.

"But if destroying the Sith is my destiny, then how can I avoid killing him?" Titus looks confused. "Because you said that you cannot avoid your destiny no matter how hard you try. And if I am a Sith Apprentice who kills his Sith Master father, how is that any different than being a Sith in the tradition of Bane? How are we not back in the old cycle that Snoke wanted to avoid?"

"Ugh," Rey groans. "This is all making my head hurt. I wish we could be a normal family without all the prophesy, Force, and patricide. I mean—who talks about this stuff at dinner?"

"We do. And that was Snoke's goal," Kylo reminds her. "He wanted to break free of the old conventions. He wanted the Skywalkers to live harmoniously together as a family."

"What was that last bit again about Jedi sight?" Rey asks. "Say the rhyme again, Kylo."

Kylo dutifully recites:

 _The difference, they say,  
Is only made right  
By the resolving of gray  
Through refined Jedi sight._

"Wait a minute," Titus thinks he's onto something. "Does 'refined Jedi sight' that mean that the Chosen One has to be a Jedi whose understanding of the Force has changed? Because I am not a Jedi. But you were, Master. Once."

"You're not getting out of this responsibility that easily," Kylo dismisses his idea. "I'm not the Chosen One, kid."

"The Chosen One is supposed to be born during a time of despair," Rey says softly. "Titus, you were born the year the New Empire was declared."

"And I was born the year the Old Empire died," Kylo points out.

"Okay, so which of you was born during the time of greatest despair?" Rey furrows her brow because she isn't sure. "I guess it depends on your point of view."

"It's a Jedi prophesy, Rey. So, from their point of view, the year the New Empire was declared and the Luke Skywalker died is probably the time of greatest despair. Ergo, you, kid are the Chosen One."

"But what if Snoke was wrong and your family isn't the line of the Chosen One?" Rey posits.

"We are by default, Rey," Kylo answers. "There are no more trained Force users left other than you and the kid here."

Titus speaks up, "Hey, Mom, maybe you—"

"Me?" Rey interrupts. She shoots him down. "Nah. Not gonna happen. I'm not the Chosen One," Rey says firmly.

"But you are the last Jedi and it's a prophesy about a Jedi—"

"The Chosen One will be a Skywalker," Kylo insists. "And your mother is a Palpatine."

"She's a Skywalker by marriage," Titus persists.

"Er . . . well . . . not exactly," Rey looks uncomfortable as she's about to fess up that she and Kylo aren't actually married. She's not really a Skywalker. She's more like a Skywalker's baby mama with some pretend paperwork the lawyers cooked up after the fact.

But Kylo glosses over this point. "Your mother is key, Titus. Snoke firmly believed that. Since she is the only Light Side Force user left, she will be integral to balancing the Force. But she is not the Chosen One."

"This is all pretty far removed from those words you told us," Rey points out. "And the Jedi were wrong about a lot of things, Kylo. Maybe they were wrong about this prophesy too."

"No," Kylo is firm. "The prophesy of the Chosen One who will bring balance to the Force is as old as the Jedi Order itself. It's true alright. But we shouldn't get hung up on reading the actual words literally. Translations can be loose, especially when handed down a thousand generations. And it is a Jedi prophesy written from their point of view, so that's why it speaks of destruction of the Sith and of refining Jedi sight. Focus on the bigger picture that there will come a messiah of the Force to unify the traditions of Dark and Light." Kylo looks first to her and then to Titus. "That's the point of the prophesy: that in the end, change will come to unify us all."

Titus sighs and looks away. "No pressure," he grumbles.

Kylo is impatient with this attitude. "Look, kid, no one is expecting you to do this at twelve. But maybe by thirty. Let's aim for thirty."

"No pressure," Titus grumbles some more.

Seeing his expression, Rey speaks up. "Maybe tomorrow night we can have a Force-free dinner. We'll talk about normal stuff like a normal family. You know—what you did at school, Titus. And what's new with the Empire for you, Kylo."

"That's what we do at breakfast," Kylo points out. "Stop trying to make us normal, Rey. We're the Skywalkers." They are finished now, both with their discussion and the meal. As they get up to leave, Kylo raises his eyebrows at her. "So . . . _Across the Stars_?"

Titus reacts before Rey can answer. "You watch that with her?" the boy looks surprised and amused. "Dad would always refuse to watch that telenovela crap."

"Cade liked to watch business news mostly," Rey explains for Kylo's sake.

"Yeah . . . it was all futures markets and interest rate hikes. Dad was all business," Titus remembers. "Sort of like you're all power and the Force, Master."

Kylo smirks. "Not all men can be Skywalkers, kid. Consider yourself lucky."

"Titus, you can watch too," Rey offers. "We're up to the season two finale."

"Is that the one where—"

"Stop!" Kylo raises a hand and freezes the boy midsentence in the Force. "Don't tell me anymore," he admonishes before he releases him. "Titus, you are definitely your mother's son," he says with a glare her direction. "She's spoiled enough of the plot already. Are you coming, kid?"

Titus declines. "I have some homework to do. Maybe another time."

Rey watches proudly as he shuffles from the room. She smiles over at Kylo. "What you told him must have worked. He's really studying these days."

"Of course, he is. I told him he'd get lightning if he skipped any more school."

"Kylo!" Rey turns outraged eyes on him. "Don't you dare!"

The Sith shrugs. "Actually, he doesn't need the stick, Rey. The carrot is working fine. Titus wants that sword. I told him he could have a sword if he got good grades, remember?"

"A training sword, Kylo. Not a real sword," she argues as together they begin walking back to their rooms.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Kylo, he will get hurt!" Rey protests. She doesn't need her reckless son losing a limb goofing around with a lightsaber trying to imitate his dad's impressive spins.

"The Jedi used to give five year olds training swords and ten year olds real ones," Kylo informs her.

"Ten years old with a real lightsabers? Really?" Rey is skeptical. But if it's true, then this is just one more thing the Jedi Order did wrong as far as she is concerned.

"Yep. Our boy has some ground to make up. You want popcorn?" Kylo asks in a total non sequitur.

"Nah . . . " Rey decides. "Maybe just a beer tonight. I'm full from dinner."

"Okay. My place in five, babe," he calls after her as she disappears into her room.

Minutes later, her Empress dress is hung up and her hair is down and Rey is her most comfy self settling onto the couch beside Kylo. He has his boots and his cape off and his tunic hanging open as he pops the top of a beer for each of them. This has become their nightly habit for the past two weeks. An episode of _Across the Stars_ and then some talk about nothing. Then she and Kylo go their separate ways for the evening. Rey usually wanders back to her room to take a long shower and Kylo does whatever he does at night. It's low key and easy. And it feels good. Things are considerably less tense than they once were.

It reminds Rey of old times on the _Finalizer_ during the war. Kylo would be drinking beer and fielding messages on his datapad while she curled up next to him watching the holonet. Kylo would talk a lot about the future and she would quietly worry about the war. Back then, the loss of Snoke to Kylo's uncle had been a fresh wound that was sore. And so, Kylo had not spoken much about his family. And he hadn't cared much about balancing the Force. His focus had been single-minded—he wanted to end the war. The war had been his goalpost for everything he wanted. For his Empire and for their marriage. Things would get better, Kylo had promised again and again, after the war ends. Only Rey hadn't stuck around to find out.

More and more, she wonders what would have happened had she stayed. Who would she be now if she had been an Empress at age twenty-one? How might the Empire be different? And what might their family have been like if Kylo had raised Titus all along? If she knew then that she would end up here now, would she have done things any differently? Yes, she would. It would have spared the Biggs family and Titus a lot of pain. Rey feels terribly guilty over Cade and the girls. And more than a little guilty about Kylo too.

"Watching this with you is better than watching it on my own," she tells Kylo now as she stifles a yawn.

He looks over at her and smiles. "Yeah? Why?"

"You know all the real history this show alludes to," Rey explains. "I don't know enough history, Kylo. I don't know enough anything really . . . "

He considers this comment a moment. "When the new Senate session kicks off, Nestor wants to move forward with education reform. Rey, you could be a big part of that, if you wish."

"Let me guess—the liberals will hate that too," she groans. Is there anything that Kylo wants to do that Stegger and his crew approve of?

"They are wary of our military academy models," Kylo admits. "And they prefer traditional education subjects over our trade school models for the Rim. Having you speak personally about your experience on a developing world might help. Work skills matter more than college degrees on places like Jakku."

"I'd have starved if I didn't have mechanics skills on Jakku," Rey admits. "But now I wish I had a degree. I was prepared for life on Jakku but I'm not prepared for the life I lead now."

"I never went to a university," Kylo points out, "and it didn't limit me."

"You graduated from Snoke's Sith school," she laughs. "You could probably teach those professors at the war college and in the Coruscant U history department a thing or two."

"Yeah, probably," he concedes. But now he tries to encourage her. "Rey, your contributions to the Force will dwarf anything you could have learned in school. And you have your whole life to keep learning. You didn't miss your chance."

"I suppose so . . . " Rey yawns again and unconsciously leans her head against his shoulder.

"Tired?" he asks as he gathers her close.

"Yes. Force healing is hard. I hope I get more stamina in time. It feels like I am getting a better but it's just as tiring as before."

"Give it time, Rey. The Force is the work of a lifetime. It's like learning. There's no rush."

"You sound more like Snoke every day," she muses. Rey means it as a compliment. For as Dark as old Darth Plagueis was, there were good sides to the old Muun. Like Darth Ren, Darth Plagueis had been a complicated man.

"I am beginning to understand him more and more each day," Kylo confesses softly. Clearly, this is something to which he has given much thought. "I know now why Snoke wanted things to be different. I respect all that he was trying to do. And I understand better the sacrifices he made along the way."

"The lady in the temple . . ." Rey recalls.

"And both his sons too. Rey, I know what it means to lose your love. And thanks to Titus, I know what it means to be a father." Kylo has that solemn tone he always gets when speaking of his beloved Master. "For years I worried that I would never be as strong as Darth Vader. I wanted to finish what my grandfather started. To bring peace and security to my new Empire. But now, I think the legacy I need to live up to is Darth Plagueis. He is the one to emulate." Rey nods, thinking back on the wily, womanizing, wine-soaked Sith. A Renaissance man and iconoclast if there ever was one. Snoke had taken everything about the Sith tradition and turned it on its head while admiring the Light from afar. For a Sith, he had a tendence to be shockingly loyal, especially to his Skywalker clan.

And now it's Kylo turn to admit to his insecurities. "I wish Snoke were here to help teach Titus. He would make sure to do it right. I let our Master down by failing to balance the Force, Rey. I don't want to let him down again with Titus doing the same."

"Kylo," she lifts her head to catch his eye. "Snoke would be the first to say that you cannot avoid your destiny. If you were meant to be the Chosen One, it would have happened regardless of anything you did. And if Titus is the true Chosen One, then nothing you screw up can change that."

"Do you really believe that?" he asks, sounding hopeful and a bit relieved. It's small moments like these that betray just how important Titus is to Kylo, and for more than the Force.

"Yes. Snoke was right," Rey answers firmly. "Destiny chooses you. You don't choose destiny. Isn't that what he used to say?"

"But Snoke thought that I was the Chosen One, Rey. That you and I would bring balance to the Force. And that's not going to happen . . . "

"In our own way, we might. By helping Titus."

"I suppose . . ." Kylo falls silent now. His attention is back on the show they are watching. "This Gungan character is annoying," he observes testily. "His entire subplot is stupid."

"Do Gungans really speak Basic like that?" she asks, taking another sip of beer

"I guess. I don't know," Kylo admits. "In all the times I've been on Naboo, I've never even seen a Gungan."

His reflective mood has rubbed off on her and now Rey too wants to get something off her chest. "Kylo," she says softly. "Kylo, I'm sorry that you lost so much time with Titus. You missed some really important years. I regret that. For you. And for him." She looks down. "Things might be easier between you now if you had lived those years together."

He sighs and shrugs. "So, he's an angry kid. So was I, Rey. We Sith are emotional people. Wait until he's a full-fledged teenager. It's gonna get ugly."

Yeah, she knows. Even the Biggs girls had their moments as moody teens. "Are you sure you want to give him a sword?" Rey is dubious of this whole plan. Deadly force plus hormones sounds like a bad combination to her.

Kylo disagrees. "Titus needs more responsibility, Rey, not less. Think of what you were doing at his age."

"I had been on my own for years at twelve."

"That's my point. He could use more responsibility." Kylo now reacts again to the show. Gesturing with his beer at the screen. "That looks so fake. Doesn't that look fake? That rancor looks totally fake. Tell me that our Twi'lek slave girl is not going to be fed to that Hutt's rancor."

"I thought you didn't want spoilers—" Rey sighs as she sinks lower with fatigue.

"Well, here's our clone anti-hero to save her. I see how this works out now."

"The battle droid gets her, not the rancor," Rey nods. Her eyes are getting heavy.

"Oh, yeah. Right. You already spoiled me on that. Twice now." Kylo doesn't even sound upset about it anymore.

"You asked for it," she yawns and closes her eyes. She must drift off to sleep for a few minutes because she awakes with a start.

"Mom? Mom?" It's Titus' voice calling her from two rooms away. "Mom!" he sounds agitated.

"In here," Kylo hollers and seconds later their slightly curious looking son stalks in. He even walks like Kylo, Rey realizes as she sits up to blink at him.

"What's up, kiddo?" Rey asks as she rubs at her eyes and yawns.

"You guys look . . . uh . . . " Titus is looking for the right word. "Comfortable," he decides as he sizes up the situation of finding his father lounging drinking beer while his sleepy mother lays with her head practically in his lap. "Mom, I need your help. Well . . . I need credits. Have you got a credit card?"

"Sure—go look in my purse. What for?"

"Oh, just some stuff . . . "

Both she and Kylo loudly hear through the Force his attempt at an evasion. "Kid, answer your mother," Kylo commands in full Sith Master mode.

"Uh . . . yeah . . . " Titus agrees. "But I'm in a hurry so come in here and get your purse and I'll tell you, Mom," Titus suggests.

"Okay," Rey agrees, exchanging glances with Kylo. It's clear that Titus doesn't want his father to know what's going on. She plods over to her room to search for her purse with Titus on her heels. As soon as they cross the threshold into her suite, Titus waves a hand to shut the door with the Force. And now, he definitely has her attention.

She turns to pin the boy with her eyes, for Rey is suddenly wide awake. Her sense of danger is definitely pricked. "What's going on, Titus," she demands.

"It's Malia," he confesses, a worried look on his face. "She's been arrested." Titus inhales a deep breath. "I need money to go down to the Underworld to bail her out."


	35. Chapter 35

"A-Arrested? Oh, my gods!" Rey gulps and blinks at her son. "For what?"

"Mom, I don't know. I got a frantic com from Malia a few minutes ago. It got cut short and she won't pick up when I call back. All I know is that she got arrested. I have the coordinates for the police station she's at." Titus looks determined now. "I'm going to help her. Don't try and stop me, Mom."

"Stop you? Titus, I'm going with you! Let me just get dressed." Rey pushes past her son and starts digging in her closet as the door to the adjoining room opens and Kylo stalks in.

"Spill it, kid," he orders. "What's going on?"

Titus hesitates just as Rey marches back in the room with clothes draped over her arms. "Master—" he begins.

Rey takes over and cuts to the chase. "Malia Biggs got herself arrested in the Underworld tonight. She's a student here at Coruscant U. She's my daughter and I'm going to bail her out." Rey says this in a tone that means business, for she's not about to take no for an answer.

To her surprise, Kylo simply agrees. "Get dressed in something as nondescript as possible. I'll do the same."

"What?" Titus yelps.

Kylo whirls to shoots his son a hard look. "I'm not letting your mother go down to the Underworld alone at night. That's not safe for a woman."

Rey raises her chin and pops out her hip. "I think I can handle myself—"

"I know you can," Kylo shoots back. "But together we can handle things better." Then he glares at their son. "On the way, you can explain how you know all this, Titus."

"Uh . . . Master, I don't think you coming is a good idea . . . " Titus hedges, looking helplessly to Rey for her to step in.

"And why is that?" Kylo wants to know.

"My sister is . . . "

"Yes?"

Rey spits out the truth. "She's not your biggest fan, Kylo. Or mine, for that matter. This will be ugly. You should know that. So don't come if you're only going to lose your temper and make things worse."

"Great." Kylo smirks. "Maybe we should let her spend the night in jail. Let Cade Biggs come bail her out."

"Absolutely not!" Rey decrees. "We are doing this and then I will call Cade."

Kylo's brow darkens. "You will not. I will call him, Rey."

"Kylo—"

"There's no going back there, Rey. Those ties are cut. Like the ties to this Biggs girl were supposed to be cut." He glares again at their son.

"Kylo, it's just a phone call—"

"I said I'll handle it."

"Fine," Rey gives in. They are wasting time. "Go get dressed in something less Emperor Ren and let's do this."

Five minutes later, Rey is dressed as casually and blandly as a woman with a closet full of pricey designer clothes can be. Her hair is in a ponytail and she has a headscarf over it. All in all, she looks like a rich woman who is embarrassed to be seen in Coruscant's seedy Underworld bailing out her kid. And, honestly, that's not too far from the truth. When Kylo reappears, he looks like he's the Sith Emperor on casual Friday instead of his usual formal Sith Emperor attire, but it's the best he can do apparently.

"You look like you without the mask and cape," Rey complains. "Do you have anything that's not all black?"

Kylo looks almost offended by the suggestion. "No. I'm a Sith. Black is our uniform. You know that."

"Okay, well it will have to do," Rey decides. "Kylo, if anyone asks, you are my security. We are the fancy Biggs family from Kuat and I have security like the rest of the pretentious Upper Level ladies around here."

Kylo nods. "That works. Have you got a blaster in your purse? You need a weapon down there."

"Yes."

"Okay, I've got my sword," he pats at his midsection. Then he glances over at Titus. "Hold on kid." Kylo disappears back into his rooms and returns with two lethal looking small blasters. "One for you and one for me."

"Cool!" Titus grins. Then he carefully copies his father who tucks the pistol into his waistband behind where his open jacket hangs.

"Are you ready to be a hero?" Kylo asks him and the boy fervently nods.

"Good. Then, come on." The incognito Ren family now starts marching down the hall towards the landing platform at a fast clip. Kylo takes this opportunity to give his son a few pointers. "Keep the safety on until you fire. Even a well-made, well-maintained blaster can misfire. Kid, the first rule of carrying a weapon in a situation like this is that you never reveal it unless you intend to use it. Showing a weapon escalates a situation instantly. Remember that. And if you're going to kill, kill. Don't brandish a weapon and make a speech like it's a scene in a holonet show. In real life, that can get you killed. So when you pull your weapon, use it. Always shoot first, kid. If you shoot second, you'll be dead."

"Got it." The boy's eyes are flashing and he walks a little taller as he learns the worldly wisdom of his warrior father. "So when do I get a sword?" Titus asks eagerly. "Because it would be good if I had a cool sword tonight too."

"Nice try," Kylo smirks. "Kid, you get a sword when you earn one. And you only carry a sword once you can use one. And that's not tonight."

They are at the landing platform now and Rey is looking over their speeder options. She doesn't like what she sees. "I'm not sure we should take a palace speeder. That might be a bad idea," she suggests as she looks to Kylo for his thoughts.

He agrees. "Let's steal one from the staff."

"Really?" Titus gapes at this solution.

So Kylo rephrases the idea. "We are borrowing it from someone on the palace staff. Your mother will hotwire it. And if we wreck it, we'll replace it."

"Wow," marvels young Titus. "This is getting crazy. If Malia weren't in trouble, this would be kind of fun."

Kylo snorts. "Danger is always fun. It's okay, you can admit it. We're Sith, not boy scouts." He catches Rey's eye now. "Will this be booze or spice? Has the Biggs girl done stuff like this before?"

"No, no she hasn't." And that's what concerns Rey the most about tonight. Because Malia is a smart, responsible, and well-adjusted girl. Or she had been until she had lost her brother and her most consistent mother figure. The bitter, radicalized girl Rey had spoken to on the way to school that morning had been nothing like the Malia Rey remembers. And that makes Rey very worried about what will happen tonight. "Malia has never been in trouble before," she tells Kylo with a stricken look.

He sees her unease. "Whatever it is, we will handle it," Kylo assures her.

Five minutes later, Rey has found a reasonably nice sedan speeder to borrow that must belong to some high-ranking palace guard. She gets it fired up and running quickly. Then they are in and away with Titus at the controls.

"I'm not going to ask how it is that you know your way down to the Underworld so well, but I am noting it," Rey says tartly at her son.

Titus doesn't reply.

Kylo too has noticed. "Apparently, you aren't the only one who likes to play tourist on this world, Rey. Now, kid, I want you to explain how you came to be in contact with the Biggs girl."

"She's my sister!" Titus retorts. "She's not some girl—"

Rey now jumps in. "Kylo, Malia was waiting for us outside school one morning. We . . . er . . . had words. She gave Titus a comlink before she ran off."

"And you let him keep it?" Kylo sends some side eye her way.

"Of course, I didn't! I've been asking for it for weeks now. Isn't that right, Titus?"

"Uh . . . yeah. But if I didn't have the comlink, we wouldn't know that Malia is in trouble now," Titus points out.

"If that's your exculpatory argument for 'no harm, no foul,' it's not a winner," Kylo informs him bluntly. But all in all, Kylo bizarrely seems to be enjoying this impromptu adventure. Like this is family fun and not something utterly serious and troubling. "You know I got arrested in the Underworld for spice back when I was seventeen," he reminisces.

Rey snorts, "That was prostitution."

"Really?" Titus is impressed.

"It was both," Kylo brags with a wink at his son.

"Don't get any ideas," Rey warns her son before she shoots Kylo a dirty look. Because what the Hell kind of parenting is this? Titus is getting quite an education about his parents tonight.

Kylo is undeterred. The wretched man is grinning now. "I haven't been undercover in years. Nestor is too recognizable for us to go out on the town anymore. We used to do shit like this all the time before the war ended. There was a time when we knew every dive bar in the Underworld and every slick joint on the Upper Level." Kylo indulges in a little fatherly advice now. "Kid, do your drinking in the Underworld but pick up girls in the Uscru. You don't want anything to do with a cheap whore from the Lower Levels."

"Kylo!" Rey barks. Then she fixes her gaze on her son. "Titus, ignore all that."

"You should go out with mom," the boy suggests to Kylo. "If you're doing this now, why can't you do it another time?"

"She's too recognizable. And think of the scandal when the Empress is caught stepping out on Kylo Ren.

Oh, the irony." Kylo smirks but then considers a moment. "Actually, maybe we should do it . . . "

"Do we have to discuss this now?" Rey complains. Because how can Kylo be so blasé at a time like this. "It's dead ahead on the scanner, Titus. Slow up so we don't get everyone's attention coming in fast." Rey keeps up her flow of instructions as they arrive. "Let me do the talking," she commands Kylo. "You are only here to speak up if there is real trouble. And by trouble I don't mean when my step-daughter starts mouthing off, got it?"

"Yes, dear," Emperor Ren says with feigned meekness. And now it's Titus' turn to smirk. Whatever. Rey ignores them both as she marches into the police substation located at the coordinates Malia had sent. It has a lingering stale smell of vomit, sweat and ozone, for here on the lowest levels of Coruscant the chemical exhaust of a million transports settles into a thick, cloying smog that blankets everything. The local police station is bustling even for a Wednesday night, with cops marching in obviously intoxicated prisoners in various states of extreme emotions. Some are crying, some are angry, and some are completely oblivious because they are too stoned to know what's going on. All in all, it is disreputable, dingy scene.

Rey is from Jakku and she's seen a lot worse than this. But she's pretty certain sheltered rich kid Malia Biggs has not. She must be terrified, Rey thinks. This is way out of Malia's prior personal experience. Plus, Rey has a lot of fears about what might happen to an impressionable pretty young girl in this seedy setting. Malia might be book smart, but she is definitely not street smart. And that combined with her big mouth could cause any number of problems. Rey wants her daughter out of here now. She quickens her step.

"Yep. It's just like I remember." Kylo apparently still thinks this is a trip down memory lane. "The last time I was in one of these, I was bailing out one of our knights out after he got arrested in a bar fight. I think I was twenty-two or something. Back then, you just bribed the cops so they would look the other way as you walked out." He looks around and frowns. "Yeah . . . I never did anything about the Underworld. Maybe I should have the First Order clean this place up. But just a little. Not too much. It has a certain type of charm."

Rey ignores this nostalgic monologue as she hisses once more, "Let me do the talking." Then she presents herself to the intake desk. "I'm here for Malia Biggs. She's nineteen. A pretty dark skinned human girl. She got picked up tonight."

The cop at the desk raises an eyebrow at this claim. "Yeah?" He looks over thirty-five-year-old fair skinned Rey. "The nineteen-year-old black girl is your daughter, eh? Next, you're going to tell me that this guy"-he points to Kylo—"is your son."

"She's my stepdaughter," Rey amends. "Are we at the right place? Is she here? It's Biggs with two g's."

The man pokes at a screen. "Biggs . . . Biggs . . . Yes, she's here. Oh, yeah. This is serious. Wait here, lady." He nods to a decrepit looking droid who shuffles off without explanation.

"Mom—"

"Be quiet."

The wait is tedious. Rey keeps looking back at Kylo because she has a bad feeling about this. He must sense her growing concern because Kylo steps forward to whisper in her ear, "Easy baby, I feel it too. Whatever this is, we'll handle it." And those words are reassuring. Because this man is the Emperor of the galaxy and if anyone can make a problem go away, it's Kylo Ren.

"You're here for the prisoner Biggs?" Up walks a burly police lieutenant whose swagger and stance just scream 'by the book.' He wears the stamp of an ex-military man with his buzzcut and First Order medallion tattoo on his beefy neck.

"Yes, that's right," Rey answers. "I would like to post a bond."

"Not happening, lady." The newcomer shakes his head. "This is serious."

"Serious? What's serious?" Rey parrots. She's not following.

"This isn't underage drinking or spice, lady. Malia Biggs got picked up for conspiracy to commit terrorism. She is now a suspected member of the Resistance."

"The R-Resistance? T-Terrorism?" Rey stammers. She has a sinking feeling that things will be downhill from here. Nothing good is going to come from this. And now, Rey can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing that Kylo is here.

"We caught her doing a pickup of these. Twenty-seven of them." The man holds up a small piece of equipment encased in a protective seal with the word 'Evidence' stamped on the outside. It looks vaguely like a comlink from the brief look Rey gets.

"Oh."

"Look, this is above our pay grade, lady. Local law enforcement doesn't do this sort of thing. Around here we handle mostly simple assaults, minor theft, solicitation, intoxication . . . that sort of thing. We'll be turning her over to First Order Intelligence soon. We've contacted them. They are on their way."

"Oh."

"She'll get a hearing after her interrogation once Intel determines the full extent of the charges. The judge will decide then whether you can post a bond." The man is matter of fact. "It's best if you go. There's nothing you can do here tonight."

"Oh." With each successive piece of information, Rey's voice gets smaller and quieter. This is sobering stuff. Rey gulps. "Can I see her? I'm her mother. Er . . . stepmother. Just five minutes, please—"

"Sorry, lady. That's not allowed. There are no privileges for wannabe terrorists like this gal. Especially before Intel talks to her."

"Oh."

"You a veteran?" Kylo speaks up as the police lieutenant turns to walk away.

The man pauses to answer. "Yeah. That's right."

"A trooper?"

He nods. "I was an NCO by the war's end," the man says proudly. "Were you with the Order too?"

"Yeah, I saw my share of action," Kylo is vague as he nods. "I was in the Mid Rim Campaign all the way through to the Core. Saw some action here too."

The police lieutenant's eyes dart to Rey. "Who are you to her and to Malia Biggs?" he demands.

Rey jumps in. "He's my husband. I . . . er . . . remarried again. It's complicated. Look, just give us five minutes. Please," she begs.

"We're not asking to see our girl alone. You or one of your men can be there," Kylo volunteers. "I don't know what she has gotten herself into. But if she's betrayed the Empire, then she should get what she deserves."

This attitude must impress the police lieutenant. "Yeah, ok," he allows. "You can see her. But just for five minutes."

Rey breathes a sigh of relief. This is something, at least. The Ren family follows the policeman down the hall to another desk, this one behind the secure lockup. Next, they follow him and a clerical droid down a cellbay. They stop at the very end. Through the cell window, Rey sees her downcast daughter sitting alone on a bench with hands shackled. It's uncomfortably familiar looking to Rey. Her heart goes out to the girl.

"Oh, Malia," Rey sighs aloud.

"Only one of you goes in," the lieutenant decrees. Rey steps up. "Okay, fine. But first, I need to see some ID, lady."

Rey fishes around in her bag to pull it out. "Oh, gosh, in my hurry, I left it behind," she lies. "I'm Renata Biggs of Kuat. Rey starts rattling off her old identification number and Kuat address while the droid runs it against his database. The lieutenant looks over the readout and compares the pictures. "Yeah, you check out okay. You know," he cocks his head at Rey, "Now that your hair isn't blonde like in this photo, you sort of remind me of that Empress lady."

"I get that all the time," Rey says weakly.

"I don't see it," Kylo says gruffly. "And I'm not sure I like that Jedi Empress."

That remark clearly resonates with the lieutenant. "Me neither." He reconsiders now. "Alright, you can go in too," he tells Kylo, "but the kid here stays outside. And just for five minutes, remember?" The policeman snaps his fingers impatiently at Kylo now. "Give me your ID."

Kylo calmly waves a hand. "You don't need to see my identification."

"I don't need to see your identification," the man repeats dully.

"Malia Biggs isn't the girl you're looking for."

"Malia Biggs isn't the girl we're looking for," the man repeats again.

"She's free to go."

"She's free to go."

Rey exchanges glances with Kylo but they both remain silent as the man unlocks the door. Inside the cell, Malia Biggs shoots to her feet.

She glares past them at Titus standing behind in the hallway. "She's here? Why is she here?"

Rey answers calmly, "Because I'm your mother."

"You're not my mother!"

"I'm one of them."

Kylo has apparently heard enough. He freezes irate Malia Biggs in the Force and then again waves a hand at the hapless police lieutenant. "Take the cuffs off," he instructs and the man does as he is told. Kylo turns his attention back to Malia. He speaks slowly and carefully. "Girl, this is your one chance to avoid First Order interrogation, so listen up. Once I release you, you are going to keep your mouth shut as we walk out of this cell and out of this police station. You will not ask questions and you will not offer commentary. You will keep your mouth shut and do as you are told. Do you understand?"

Force frozen Malia Biggs cannot so much as blink right now. But Kylo must be satisfied. Because he releases her and then turns to the lieutenant. Again, Kylo waves a hand. "Walk us out past the intake desk," he commands. "Move along."

The lieutenant does as he is told. "Move along," he ushers them out quickly. Kylo pauses momentarily in deep concentration right before they leave. "Security cameras," he mutters to Rey to explain. Then all four of them pile in the stolen speeder and are away.

"How did you do that?" Titus demands as he guns the throttle hard.

"It's an old Jedi mind trick," Kylo explains.

"Master, you can still do a Jedi mind trick? Isn't that the wrong side of the Force?"

Kylo shrugs. "It ought to be called a Sith trick because fucking with people's minds is my thing. I've always been good at it even from my early days."

Smart mouth Malia Biggs finally finds her tongue. "Who is this guy?" she demands of Rey.

"He's my security," Rey lies.

"Oh, yeah. You're the Empress now. I forgot because you used to be my Mom but that was a lie—"

"Shut up," Kylo tells Malia without preamble. "I told you to keep your mouth shut. I'll tell you when you can open it. Your mother came down to bail you out for spice or liquor. She didn't count on terrorism."

"Malia, can you explain this?" Rey feels sick about how this has turned out. Tonight is going to be a lot worse than she had feared.

Her daughter's response is cold. "I don't have to explain myself to you of all people—"

"Then you can explain it to me," Kylo interrupts.

"Are you going to arrest me now, security guard?" Malia sneers.

"Girl, you have just put a lot of people in a very uncomfortable spot now," Kylo informs her.

"Whatever," she tosses her head. Maybe it's the arrogance of youth or just the arrogance of privilege, but Malia has no idea of the trouble she is in. Or the man she is with. Rey wants to cringe as she hears her daughter smugly tell Kylo, "My dad will take care of it. He's Cade Biggs. Just drop me back at my dorm room for now, Mom—E-Empress."

"Back to the palace," Kylo countermands this request grimly. Soon, they are back and the speeder is returned and their trio plus Malia have marched back inside.

Kylo turns to Titus. "Go to bed, kid. It's late and you've got school tomorrow. Your mother and I will handle this."

"No." The boy is firm.

Kylo turns to him and snarls, "That was not a request. Go on. Your sister is safe. There is nothing to fear."

"No, Master. I'm staying," the boy says quietly. He meets Rey's eyes and she reads the concern there. Titus, at least, appreciates the peril that Malia is in. This isn't a young person's prank or a night on the town taken too far. This is a serious crime. Titus knows as well as Rey does that Kylo is not going to simply let this go.

Kylo just sighs. And then before Rey can blink, he shoots a single bolt of lightning at their son. It brings the boy to his knees.

"KYLO!" Rey bellows in outrage.

And now the cat is out of the bag. Malia Biggs is looking from her to Kylo to Titus and putting it all together. "Oh, fuck, you're him! Y-You're Ren!" She pales and starts backing away.

"Yes, he is!" Titus warns his sister, "Do what he says, Malia-"

"Oh, the irony of that advice," Kylo drawls with a smirk.

Titus is picking himself off the floor. "I'm still staying, Master," he maintains. And for that, he earns more lightning.

"KYLO!" Rey's nerves are frayed and she's aghast by the direction this whole evening has gone. "Don't you dare—"

"Dare what, Rey?" Kylo snaps. "Dare to discipline an unruly child? Clearly, you didn't teach enough discipline around the Biggs household if this kid is the result." Kylo jabs a thumb in the direction of the still stupefied Malia Biggs. Kylo gives his son a frustrated look and his tone is sharp. "Titus, go to bed. Don't make this any harder on yourself or your mother. Your sister will be fine."

"She will not be fine and we all know that!" Titus explodes. "I'm staying!"

And now the Biggs family drama has provoked a Skywalker row. Kylo whirls on Rey. "He doesn't listen to you and now he decides he doesn't have to listen to me either? Well, I'm not permitting that, Rey! You are his mother, the Empress, and the last of the Light. I am his father, his Sith Master, and the Emperor of the known universe. Titus is going to respect us, Rey." He shoots another bolt of lightning at Titus for good measure and the boy again drops to his knees. "Got that, kid?" Kylo stomps close to loom over his son. "I am not Cade Biggs and you will not disobey me."

"Kylo, you're hurting him!" Rey wails.

"Good. Maybe he'll get the message. My violence has a purpose, Rey, you know that. If I were Plagueis, you'd be getting in a bacta tank now, kid. My Master didn't give warnings and he didn't pull his punches. Consider yourself lucky. Now get out of here!"

Titus looks to Rey for a last appeal, but she nods slowly. "Go to bed, Titus. I promise that Malia will be fine." Rey says this last bit through gritted teeth as she glares at Kylo. "We are discussing this later," she hisses at him before offering to Titus, "If you want, I can heal you tomorrow morning before school."

"Don't bother," Titus scoffs. "I'm tougher than he thinks. One day, I will be more powerful than he is, and then he will feel my lightning," the boy vows coldly. "I fucking hate you!" he hollers as a parting shot.

Kylo rolls his eyes at this, but thankfully his departing son can't see. "You're supposed to be more powerful, kid. That's the whole point of being the Chosen One," Kylo jeers after him. As usual, he has to have the last word. "Now," Emperor Ren turns his attention back to the Malia, "Tell me about the detonators."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Kylo crosses his arms and regards the girl frankly. "Oh, I think you do. You got picked up tonight with remote detonators." He meets Rey's eyes now as he explains, "They are made to look like comlinks at a distance. They are a standard tool for terror. A classic technique from the old Rebellion days. And Malia here got picked up with twenty-seven of them. That's enough to detonate significant bombs all throughout the city." He turns back to the girl. "Start talking. I want contact names and locations."

Malia's lip curls. "I'm not giving you anything."

"You might want to rethink that. Because there is an easy way to do this, a hard way to do this, and a very hard way to do this. I'm offering you the easy way, Malia. And that's only because of your mother here who you so disdain." Kylo grunts. "Think it over a moment. Think hard about how you feel about pain."

Rey watches as Malia's lower lip begins to tremble. If Kylo's goal is to scare her into confessing, it might work, she thinks.

Kylo paces closer still, looking Malia over thoughtfully as he presses his case. "It's just us now. Cade Biggs can't save you. Neither his money nor his influence means anything here. So start talking."

"Malia," Rey speaks up. "Tell us what happened. We need to know so that we can help you."

"Listen to her and things will go a whole lot better for you."

"No." The girl is stubborn.

"Malia, please!" Rey implores. "You owe us an explanation. Look, you're out of jail now. See? We are here to help you. Now, you need to explain what happened."

Kylo nods. "Let's start with the easy stuff. Who gave you detonators and who were you planning to give them to?"

The girl looks up resentfully at Kylo. "You have ruined my family and you have ruined the galaxy!" she accuses. "Your reign will end, Kylo Ren. Just like Palpatine before you."

"Those are bold words for a young woman facing charges that carry a death sentence," he drawls.

"You don't scare me, Kylo Ren! I'm not my brother."

"No, you're not. If you were my own child, your life would have value to me," Kylo answers easily. Rey watches the girl blanche at these words. Then, Kylo begins again. "Tell me about the detonators. Where did you get them?"

"I found them," the girl lies blithely.

"I find that answer vague and unconvincing. Whoever you think you are protecting, it won't work," the Sith warns.

And now Rey speaks up again. "Malia, who got you into all this? Someone talked you into this. Tell us."

"I won't reveal the details of the mission."

"So be it," Kylo sighs. Then he raises his hand and rips into Malia's mind with the Force. Rey is helpless for a long moment, standing there horrified at the very sight. Reflexively reliving her own experiences as she watches her daughter scream. Malia's hands clutch her head as blood begins to seep out her nose and ears. For such is the violence of Kylo's Force attack.

"STOP!" Rey shouts and she throws up a hand in defense of her daughter. Kylo easily blocks her Force push, but he ceases his mental assault.

He glares down at the cowering, moaning girl. "That's the hard way, Malia Biggs. The very hard way is that I turn you over to Intel for them to beat some information out of you and then we resume what I was doing just now. Either way, I get the information. The only difference is how badly you get hurt. Now, I'm asking you again to start talking."

Malia raises scared eyes to Rey. "Please, Malia, please," Rey implores. "Talk."

Malia Biggs now starts rattling off a story about a contact with the Resistance she met in a bar who gave her the detonators. She doesn't know what they are for or when they will be used. She was just a courier. Kylo presses her for names and descriptions and she recounts what she knows as Rey hands her tissue after tissue to wipe at her weepy eyes and bloody nose. Kylo goes on for over an hour asking questions, moving on, then coming back to ask those same questions again a different way. Finally, he is satisfied.

"Take her back to your room, clean her up, and heal her if she needs it," Kylo instructs Rey. "I've got some calls to make." Then he turns to inform Malia. "The first call I'm making is to your father. He will come pick you up tomorrow. You won't be staying at Coruscant U with your student terrorist friends."

An hour later, Rey has healed Malia's superficial hemorrhage and the lingering headache that comes from Kylo's mind assault. Afterwards, she tucks her daughter into bed and puts her into a healing Force sleep. The sleep is more for her extreme emotional distress than for actual injuries. The girl has been crying nonstop. Rey herself tries to keep a cool head through it all. She keeps reminding herself to appreciate Kylo's position in the situation. But it's hard because no matter what your child has done, you don't want them to suffer. And, given all that has happened, Rey can't help but feel that Malia is more victim than perpetrator.

It's very late now, but Rey herself can't fall asleep. She is wide awake when she hears Kylo finally come in next door. That's when Rey flies through the adjoining door to give the Sith a piece of her mind.

Kylo holds up a hand to forestall her. "She got off easy, Rey. Don't complain."

"She's only nineteen!"

"That's old enough to know what she was doing was risky and wrong. Twenty-seven detonators are the sign a serious plot, Rey. I cannot ignore that. And I will not let violence run rampant in my Empire, especially when we are finally on a path to political reform. Malia Biggs and her friends want to refight the war. If they are allowed to persist, then innocents will die to their bombs. No one is ever persuaded by that kind of violence."

"Don't be sanctimonious!" Rey is following Kylo through his rooms, haranguing him as he sheds items. Datapad, sword, boots. Comlink, gloves, tunic. "You yourself use violence as a tool—"

"Yes, and I'm trying to move past that now," he complains, sounding tired. "That's partly what the Starkiller resolution is all about."

Kylo comes to a halt now and Rey nearly runs into him. "Fine," she announces. "Then let's talk about Titus. I want to hear your excuse for Titus—"

Kylo runs a hand through his wild hair. "I was trying to kill two birds with one stone with the lightning. I always have a reason for what I do, you know that. I wanted to scare the girl a little to get her primed to talk. And I wanted to discipline Titus."

"Then ground him, Kylo. Don't hurt him!" Rey wails.

"I didn't hurt him. Not really. And there's nothing Titus would like better than to be grounded here stuck in my library, Rey. Besides, you can't ground a Sith kid who has already proved himself more than capable of sneaking out of school and around my guards. Our boy needs discipline. He is already far too powerful to be allowed to act out in defiance against us. Trust me, old Snoke would not have been so understanding tonight. He believed in keeping a short leash on a young Sith."

"But you hurt him!" Rey shakes her head. "Oh, Kylo, how could you? You had to be you, didn't you? To show your dominance with the Force-"

"That wasn't even strong lightning," he protests. "It was more of a zap than anything serious. Trust me, I can do a whole lot worse."

"But you hurt our son!" What is all that talk about unifying the Skywalker clan if Kylo is going to hurt his own son? "Aren't things bad enough already between you and Titus? Why did you have to make it worse?"

Kylo sits down heavily on the bed. "That kid is craving boundaries. Can't you see that? He wants us to set limits on him. That's our role as parents and my responsibility as his Master. We cannot have an incredibly Force strong son running wild in his teen years. Trust me, I've been Titus in my time and I know what he needs. Besides, there is no permanent damage, Rey. At most, he'll be a little sore tomorrow."

That's not the point, Rey thinks. "This feels like abuse."

"Rey," he looks her in the eye. "I'm doing this for Titus. Can't you see that? If I didn't care for him, I wouldn't bother."

"So you're doing this because you love him?" Rey asks, confused.

"Yes."

"Love doesn't hurt, Kylo!" she protests.

"When you're Sith, it does. That kid needs discipline so he doesn't get out of control. Maybe this is a sign that Titus is more ready for formal training than I thought," Kylo muses aloud. "Maybe I should start training him for real."

"What's does Sith training entail exactly?" Rey asks warily. They have never spoken about this.

Kylo is blunt. "Lots more lightning."

"Oh." Rey plops down on the bed now too. "So, you're saying I should get used to this?"

"Yes. Lightning and a lot more."

"Oh."

"How is Malia?" Kylo changes the topic.

"Sound asleep in my bed. I healed her and put her in a Force sleep."

"Good idea. Where are you going to sleep?" he asks.

Rey shrugs. "I don't know. The couch, I guess."

"Want mine?"

"Your couch? Nah, I've got one of my own."

"I meant my bed. You can have my bed. I'll take the couch," he offers.

"What I really want from you is some Force sleep. I could use a little Force sleep myself." Rey wants nothing more than to fall asleep and forget this whole day. But as emotionally exhausted as she feels, Rey is wide awake. "Just a little bit, Kylo, not too much. I just want to sleep a few hours."

"Sure. Are you ready now?"

"Yes, please," Rey sighs and it's the last thing she knows until the next morning when she wakes in Kylo's bed. She hears him snoring the next room over. Kylo is asleep on the couch.

Later that afternoon, Empress Rey waits on the palace landing platform with a subdued but still angry Malia Biggs. When the girl had finally awoken, she had been confused and suspicious. But two hours later, Rey has her daughter fed, showered, and dressed in some of Rey's own casual clothes. The process is mostly silent. But when Malia intermittently speaks, Rey has only unsatisfactory answers for her questions. Mostly, the girl's concerns betray how little Malia had understood of the risks she had taken. Maybe that's the difference between being nineteen and thirty-five, Rey thinks. Or maybe, that's the difference between growing up sheltered and rich and growing up with zero safety net on Jakku.

"What will happen to the others?"

"I don't know."

"What about my things at the dorm?"

"I will arrange to have them sent home."

"What about my friends at school?"

"I think it's best if you have some distance from your friends. You will make new friends. Malia, you have always been well liked."

"And my classes? What about my classes?"

"You can withdraw from school this semester and start again at a new university next year."

"So my life is over? Is that what you're saying?"

"No. You will a fresh start, Malia. I don't know if you understand this yet, but that is a very great gift."

"This doesn't feel like a gift."

As she and Malia wait on the large, busy landing platform, a private shuttle sets down front and center. It has the Kuat logo and colors emblazoned bold. The shuttle ramp lowers to reveal a lone man, Cade Biggs. As he walks forward, his concerned eyes focused solely on his daughter, the masked and caped Emperor Ren stalks up. As usual, Kylo has a show of force of troopers and guards flowing in his wake.

What follows next has all the cordial welcome of a prisoner exchange. Cade takes a knee to his Emperor as his daughter rolls her eyes. My wife and I are humbled by your mercy, Excellency, and grateful for your understanding. Kylo nods curtly to this speech. Take your daughter home. Go in peace to serve the Empire, he admonishes. Then Cade Biggs stands and reaches for Malia's hand. He gives Rey a perfunctory nod before he departs dragging Malia behind him. And that's it. It is done.

It feels anticlimactic given all that has preceded this reunion moment. Not just last night with Malia but also Rey's coerced divorce from Cade Biggs. And so, Rey stays to watch the shuttle depart, her emotions boiling in a confused, upset, even disappointed mix. Kylo stays there by her side. After a moment, he puts a comforting arm around her. It is perhaps the first ever public gesture of affection between them.

"There are many tragedies attributable to my family," he says quietly as they watch the shuttle lift off. "In part, I am releasing Malia so she will not be added to that list. For as dangerous as it is to be a Skywalker, it is just as dangerous to love one or to raise one. That young girl is far luckier than most of my subjects in all except one respect: she crossed paths with the Skywalkers."

Rey is miserable about the last twenty-four hours. She can no longer hold back tears. "Malia didn't ask for any of this. None of the Biggs family did."

Kylo finds this comment irrelevant. "Life isn't fair. You know that better than most."

"She was never interested in politics on Kuat. Her motivations were more personal than political, I'm sure." Rey sighs. "This was more your doing than hers. You made an enemy out of her, Kylo."

"Probably," he agrees. "My actions set her up for these bad decisions. I know that, Rey. I am partially to blame."

And now, Rey can't help but see parallels to her own experience. "Malia is not the first idealistic young person to get pulled into this sort of thing. I was her age when Luke Skywalker tried to recruit me to kill you, Kylo. Maybe had I not already met you, I might have given your uncle a different answer that day." A note of bitterness creeps into Rey's voice now. "That's how it always works, isn't it? The old people make grand speeches and promises to sway impressionable young people to fight their wars." Rey wipes at her eyes. "There is no courage like the foolishness of youth."

"I'm the old guy who wants to prevent a war," Kylo maintains. "I actually have fewer convictions at forty-five than I had a nineteen. I am certain of far fewer things now than in my youth."

And that sort of makes sense to Rey, as she thinks about it. "I guess experience has a way of tempering us," Rey agrees. "That's why they say you get older and wiser."

"Do you feel wise?" he asks.

"No."

"Neither do I." Kylo sounds a bit defeated now. He tugs at Rey and she follows his lead to walk back into the palace. He's still got his arm around her shoulders. "Did Titus get a chance to see Malia this morning?" he asks.

"Yes. Briefly."

"Good. Rey, I'm a lousy father, I know that. But I am trying to do what is right in the long term. In all of this, from the very beginning through the war years to the Empire, I have only ever been trying to do the right thing. I hope you know that."

"Yeah, I guess . . . " Rey decides. "I suppose I do."

"Is Titus back? Let's go find the kid."

"Maybe you should give him some more space," Rey suggests weakly. She's not up for more drama just yet.

But Kylo has other ideas. "Not today, Rey. Today is good news. Milo sent me his report card this morning." Kylo reaches into his surcoat and pulls out an ancient training weapon to hand it to her. "Titus has earned his sword."


	36. Chapter 36

As soon as Rey returns to her office back from receiving dignitaries on Snoke's throne, Cesi bursts through the door. She has clearly been waiting. "Tonight will be amazing! Just a-maz-ing!" Lady Flick claps her hands and grins. "Just think—we are going on a double date!"

"Date?" Rey echoes in surprise. "Who said anything about a date?" Kylo had just said that they were going out with Cesi and Nestor tonight. Since that awful night in the Underworld, Kylo has had the itch to see more of his capital world incognito. So he had cooked up an idea that she and the Flicks would go out to dinner and Kylo would tag along ostensibly as security. Nestor had agreed so long as they went someplace low risk. Somehow, apparently, Cesi has morphed this scheme into a date.

"You and Kylo plus me and Nestor. Two couples out on a date," Cesi trills like she is sixteen and this is the long-awaited homecoming dance. "Laurel booked a table at the Metropolitan Club. It is exclusive in the best way so everyone will gawk, just covertly. It will be very chic and you need to look the part. Here," she thrusts a plug-in hard drive into Rey's hands.

"What's this?"

"It's the latest upgrade for your grooming droid. Tonight, we're going for sexy and alluring. Er. . . not that." By that, Cesi refers to Rey's current makeup. "That look is fine for your powerful Empress self. But no red lipstick on date night. You want kissable lips. Glowy skin and a smoky eye and juicy, wet kissable lips."

"This is not a date," Rey grumbles. "And won't everyone think it's odd if the Empress is kissing her security guard?"

Lady Flick ignores this. "None of this tight, piled up hair, either. It's too stiff, Rey. Tonight, you need to wear your hair long and loose. Tousled like you just had sex in the speeder."

"Uh . . . what?"

"I had Laurel push back your schedule. You will be getting a briefing on education reform half an hour later than planned. That gives us just a few minutes for our fun. Come on-everyone is waiting in my office."

"Everyone? Who is everyone?" Rey is almost afraid to ask.

"Just a few stylist friends I had Laurel call. They each brought an assortment of choices. Let's go see what we like." And in the face of all this enthusiasm, how can Rey say now? She dutifully follows next door where two women and one man each stand next to a hanging rack of clothes. "See anything you like?" Cesi asks as she begins rifling through the racks. As usual, Lady Flick is full of strong opinions disguised as advice. "There is a fine line between sexy and trashy, Rey, and we want to stay well north of that line. We're going for sophisticated hot girl on the town. Elegant but undeniably alluring. When you walk in, everyone is going to stare anyway. So let's really give them something to look at."

"Uhm . . . okay. But this isn't a date. We're just friends, remember?"

"Right. Friends. Got it."

Cesi's bright smile just screams that Rey is being placated. But she plays along anyway. When Cesi is in one of her managing moods, it's best just to go along. "This is pretty," Rey selects a sleek and simple longish black sheath dress. It's exactly the sort of thing Renata Biggs might have worn to a cocktail party. This plus some discrete jewelry and a neutral clutch and shoes. Yep, Mrs. Cade Biggs would have bought this and worn it over and over again to merit the astronomical price tag. "Okay, this will do." Rey turns to her friend and declares, "Done."

"Bo-ring," Cesi frowns. "Color, Rey. Color is sexy. Go for color."

"But he's a Sith so he likes black," Rey reasons aloud.

Good thing Cesi is never slow on the uptake. "Well, since you are friends then it will be safer to choose a color, right? I mean, black might give him the wrong idea . . . " Cesi yanks out a nude pink dress that looks slightly ombre. "This slip dress is so pretty. You have the elegant legs and arms to pull this off."

Rey makes a face. "I don't know, Cesi. That shows a lot of skin. And I'm not a pink girl."

"You are now. Go put it on." Cesi thrusts the dress into Rey's hands. "And put the boring black one on too for comparison," she suggests. Then, Cesi shoos Rey into her small adjacent dressing room. When she emerges in the pink dress, everyone takes a long, critical look. The professionals all nod politely and wait for their opinions to be solicited.

Lady Flick, however, does not. "That's hot!" her friend approves as she moves to look from a different angle. "It's sleek too. Walk in it for me. Okay, turn around. Well . . . the slit is daring but not immodest. Does everyone agree?" They do. "The fit is good, as is. Yes, it's perfect!" Cesi decides. "What do you think, Rey?" she asks as an afterthought.

Rey moves back to stand before the dressing room mirror. She fidgets a little. "Uh . . . it's different from what I normally would choose," she thinks out loud. "But it's comfortable. I hate tight clothes."

"Different is the point, Rey. Tonight is a departure from the everyday. No soccer mom and or prim Empress. Tonight, you are the femme fatale of the First Order. Go ahead, Rey, show everyone how you got yourself pardoned on Empire Day—"

"Cesi!"

"What? If you'd showed up in this dress, Rey, you probably never would have gone to jail. Kylo would have chained you to the bed instead—"

"Cesi!"

Lady Flick has already moved on. "Okay, everyone, I'm thinking strappy heeled sandals and some delicate jewelry and big hair. Full waves spilling everywhere. Lush and bountiful," Cesi says with relish. A chorus of agreement follows. Not that it matters. Cesi Flick likes her opinions to be ratified, but it's not strictly necessary. She's a woman very certain of her taste. "Laurel, go call for some lingerie. She needs a nude thong and a strapless push up bra."

"Cesi!" Rey hisses as she looks over at the strangers in the room. "You're embarrassing me!"

Lady Flick sees no reason for alarm. "What? We're all girls. Well, except for Marco here and he's gay. So, it's like he's an honorary girl."

Rey is bewildered by this logic. "Cesi, that was sort of offensive."

"Marco is a stylist. Trust me, he has heard the words thong and bra before. He's probably put double-sided tape places you don't even want to think about."

"Don't tell me," Rey groans. The man in question has been rummaging around in shoe boxes while they speak. He now emerges with a pair of high heeled gold strappy sandals for Rey to try on. She is slightly amused when the silent but helpful Marco assists her into the shoes like she is Cinderella. For a moment, Rey teeters. "How do you walk in these?" Rey grumbles as she takes a few tentative steps.

"Who cares?" Cesi exclaims, "because they look great. Well done, Marco," she approves. "No one accessorizes with the eye that you do, my friend." The man practically blushes from this high praise.

"Seriously, Cesi," Rey complains, "I don't think I can walk in these."

"We'll scuff up the bottoms and put on a non-slip pad." Marco the fashion engineer apparently has talents beyond double-sided tape.

"I don't know . . . "

"Oh, suck it up," Cesi complains. "Just use the Force or whatever."

"What about the black dress?" Rey glances over to the safe looking choice hanging nearby.

"What black dress?" Cesi retorts.

Five minutes later, Rey is back in her Empress attire. Marco has been dispatched to borrow jewelry to complete the look and Laurel has disappeared to install the upgrade to Rey's grooming droid. Cesi promises that the complete look—the dress, the unmentionables, the shoes, and the preprogrammed beauty and hair looks will all be waiting for Rey back in her quarters. "See? That wasn't so hard," Cesi cajoles as together they walk next door back to Rey's office. "In half an hour, we have a complete look picked out. Tonight, you don't have to do anything but let the droid do its work and then put on the clothes." And Rey has to admit, this is pretty easy.

Now that they are alone, Lady Flick has one more idea to share. "Skip the Force healing this afternoon, Rey. It makes you tired and no woman is sexy and in the mood when she is tired."

Rey gives her friend an annoyed look. "Cesi, this is not a date. Kylo and I are not sleeping together."

"Good," Cesi approves with a sly look. "Make him work for it, Rey."

Cesi is not getting this. So, Rey makes it plain. "We are never sleeping together. We're just friends now. That's all."

And, actually, that's kind of a big thing. Because after all the drama between her and Kylo, it's no small feat that they have managed to strike up a friendship. They have plenty of disagreements still, mostly about Titus. But they have lapsed back into a comfort level around each other that Rey remembers from days long ago. Kylo is vulnerable around her again, willing to discuss his misgivings and voice his fears. All the cold remote posturing she had first encountered here at the palace is gone. Mature Kylo is basically the same man she remembers: driven to success, haunted by the past, and isolated by his position. He is needy now, the same as before. Sarcastic, as always. But also more measured in his responses. Less likely to erupt into violence and more likely to entrap with his plots. There is a patience to Kylo that Rey doesn't remember from before. She sees it nightly now with Titus as he teaches the Force.

Strangely enough, Titus seems to bring her and Kylo together even though their son is the source of much conflict. It has Rey wondering if Kylo is right and Titus truly is the Chosen One. Because he brings the Dark Sith and the Light would-be Jedi together for a common goal. And that in itself is quite remarkable. Is that unity the balance of the Force? Rey doesn't know. She does know that Kylo cares for his son for more than just his lineage. But Rey is not at all certain that affection runs both ways. The Sith can be a hard taskmaster and a dismissive parent. But underneath it all, she knows that he cares. Kylo just has a hard time showing it to Titus. And, well, Rey can kind of relate. Because once long ago, she herself had a hard time recognizing her own emotions and showing Kylo that she cared. Had she done so, things might have turned out very differently, Rey knows.

"Okay, I get it. You guys are just friends," Cesi agrees softly, her voice interrupting Rey's reverie. "And since you're just friends, then there's no harm in looking great tonight, right? Because the Metropolitan is a place where you really need to look great. Rey, we need to give people an image to make them forget that awful prison jumpsuit you're all over the holonet wearing."

"No pressure," Rey sighs weakly. Fancy Coruscant social scenes are not her thing.

"Hey," Cesi suddenly realizes she has come on too strong. She gives her friend a quick hug. "I just want the Empire to see that you are beautiful inside and out. This will be fun. I promise."

* * *

Kylo finds Nestor waiting just inside the palace by the landing platform. He has shed his formal Senate Chancellor robes and he is sporting a sharp looking grey suit and boots with a spit and polish shine that would have made Hux jealous. That's all his wife's doing, Kylo knows. Nestor Flick is most at home in worn out fatigues and a t-shirt.

"Look at you looking pretty," Kylo can't resist poking fun.

As usual, Nestor lets it roll off his back. He shrugs. "This is what Cesi calls 'making an effort.' Whatever the Hell that means." His friend looks him over, shakes his head, and grins. "A shoulder holster? Could you be any more obvious?"

"I'm security, remember? It's supposed to be obvious. Tonight, I am visibly armed."

"Boss, you are always visibly armed."

"Yes, but Kylo Ren only wears a sword. He uses an elegant weapon—"

"From a more civilized day," Nestor recites. "Yeah, I've heard that line from you before hundreds of times. And the sword is cool, I'll grant you that. But ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side—"

"I've heard that line before too, you know," Kylo smirks.

"Tell me that somewhere you have your sword hidden," Nestor complains as his eyes find the wicked looking pistol strapped to Kylo's side. "Because you need a weapon for more than just show. Can you even shoot a blaster, Boss?"

"Of course."

Nestor raises an eyebrow. "'Of course' to the sword? Or 'of course' to the blaster?"

"Both."

"Good. And the man bun? What's with the fucking man bun, Kylo?"

"What?" Kylo pats up at where his hair is secured. He hopes Rey doesn't notice that he swiped one of her ponytail holders. "It's vaguely Old Republic Jedi," he says defensively. Meaning that it is absolutely not Kylo Ren.

Nestor snorts. "It sure as Hell isn't First Order."

"You're just jealous that I have hair," Kylo shoots back.

"You are never going to live this down. Cesi is going to be hooting over that man bun, Kylo."

"She wouldn't dare."

"Oh, not to your face. To me at home later tonight," Nestor confesses affably. And, of course, that's the answer. Cesi Flick is the sort of girl who only talks about people behind their back. She considers herself far too polite to snicker to a person's face. "You know, I once was a First Order bodyguard and we never looked like that. We wore uniforms, Kylo. You look more like a bounty hunter."

"Bounty hunter? I like that," Kylo smirks. And, yes, he probably should have put together some sort of uniform for tonight. The Empress would have a uniformed bodyguard, most likely. But whatever. It's not important that he look perfect. It's just important that he not look like Kylo Ren.

Nestor has moved on to more important matters now. "I read the preliminary report Intel sent around this morning. That was quite a plot you foiled. It shouldn't have gotten this far right under our noses, Kylo. Either we're getting lax or the terrorists are getting better," his friend says with a frown.

"They are getting better financed, that's for sure," Kylo observes. "Snoke always said to follow the money. That's why he himself was a master at laundering funds."

Nestor raises an eyebrow. "Does this mean you are finally going to deal with our friend Stegger?"

Kylo shrugs. "Stegger lives for as long as he is useful. And right now, with the Senate about to convene, he is useful. I need him to put a bipartisan happy face on my reforms."

"He's dangerous," his friend tells Kylo what he already knows. "Careful that you do not elevate his public standing to give him broader appeal."

"Stegger is my fall guy. I'm giving the First Order rightwing hardliners a leftwing political celebrity to hate. The farther he rises, the farther he has to fall. Once we reveal all we have on him, all decent people will applaud his execution. And the far right will be appeased. It's win-win for me," Kylo flashes a sly grin. "And a loss for Stegger and his terrorist friends."

"Plus, along the way, you get the reforms you want," Nestor muses. "Okay, I like it. Just make sure that Rey doesn't get too publicly identified with him along the way. You don't want the Empress to be the accomplice everyone hates."

"Accomplice?" Kylo chafes at this choice of words. He doesn't like the implications. "Rey will be loyal, Nestor. She would never endorse Stegger's extremist friends."

"Boss, as your Chancellor, I feel compelled to point out that I don't like you mixing your personal life with our politics."

"Duly noted."

"And as your friend, I feel compelled to point out that I don't like you mixing politics with your personal life."

Kylo just shrugs. "We're the Skywalkers, Nestor. Everything political is personal and vice versa."

His friend looks like he wants to say more but holds his tongue. Instead, he lets loose a low whistle. "Here come our dates," his friend grins.

"Dates? This isn't a date," Kylo objects as he turns to face where Nestor is looking. "Rey and I are just friends," he corrects. But as Kylo watches Cesi and Rey strut down the corridor their way, he reconsiders. At his side, Nestor has fallen silent to appreciate the sight. Kylo now follows suit.

Cesi Flick looks beautiful like she always does. Nestor's wife has that particular hyper-groomed rich bitch look that both impresses and intimidates men. Kylo pays her no heed. His attention is all for Rey. Because look at her. With every other stride, her left leg peeks out her midcalf dress all the way up to her thigh. His Empress has lost her emaciated look and now she's just her usual slim self. It's much better, actually. Kylo feasts his eyes on all that skin. Bare arms, bare neck and shoulders except for delicate spaghetti straps, and that one bare leg that teases as it flashes in and out of view. Rey's dress is completely out of step with anything Kylo has ever since her wear, both for its sultry suggestiveness and its color. But damn . . . it's hot. Really hot. Like forget-this-evening-and-let's-go-upstairs-now hot. Suddenly Kylo isn't hungry for dinner. He's hungry for something else entirely. Oh, shit—is he staring? He doesn't have his mask on so he will get caught staring. No, he is definitely not staring . . .

"I'd marry you all over again, Cesi," Nestor goes in for a kiss as the girls walk up and Kylo quickly pretends to be looking at his datapad.

Lady Flick presents her husband a smooth, perfumed cheek. "Don't mess the lipstick," she chides. But she's grinning ear to ear.

Nestor just growls suggestively. "Not until after dinner, you mean."

And, ugh. All this lovey dovey crap is awkward when you are the used-to-be-a-couple pair standing close by. Kylo knows that he should say something nice to Rey. Except he's not sure what to say. What does a guy friend tell his gal pal about how good she looks? Luckily, Nestor comes to his rescue.

"Rey, all eyes would be on you tonight even if you weren't our Empress," Nestor tells her easily. And that is the earnest, good natured charm that had gotten Lieutenant Flick laid most nights back in the days before Cesi Ono had arrived on the scene. "You're giving my Cesi a run for her money," he smiles over at his wife.

"Doesn't she look great?" Cesi chimes in like a proud mama.

"Yes, she does," Kylo manages. He attempts to say this is his most friend-like manner. It's kind of a neutral compliment, he thinks. So, yeah, he's playing it cool.

Rey blushes. "It was all Cesi's doing." Rey is delightfully awkwardly self-effacing, as usual. This is one of the many contrasts he loves about his Rey. She's ballsy as Hell in some settings and completely insecure in others. Ready to beat someone with a stick one minute, but stiff and unsure of herself the next.

But, all in all, Kylo has decided that she's still the same old Rey. Their recent misadventure to the Underworld had confirmed that the moment Rey had told him to keep quiet because she would handle things. She has never lacked for confidence in the face of uncertain danger. It was always social situations and commitments that terrified Rey most. Those are the things that bring stability and comfort to others, but his orphan scavenger girl ran from them. Not any longer, he sees. Life as a CEO's wife has given Rey some much needed social confidence. But, more importantly, motherhood has awakened in Rey a fierce love. That's why Empress Rey had marched into a police station spouting lies to rescue a spiteful, unappreciative stepdaughter. And that's why Rey had once offered herself to him in exchange for their son. Rey had refused to bargain with her body back on Jakku, but she will gladly do it now. Because, quite simply, there is nothing Rey won't do for their son. That loyalty impresses Kylo. It also makes him jealous. For once, Kylo had wanted Rey's devotion. But if he cannot have it, then at least their son will. He's decided that the best thing he can do as a father is to make sure his son has his mother. For her love as well as her Force.

Rey is apparently doing her own inspection. And that's very her. She chuckles now and elbows Cesi as she gestures to him. "The scar, the hair, the black, the guns. You definitely look like a scoundrel, Kylo. Like some space pirate. Not Lord Law and Order."

Rey's happy, lighthearted mood makes him answer back, "Scoundrel? Scoundrel? I like the sound of that."

Rey is laughing hard now. "Oh, Kylo, you look like you if you were trying hard not to look like you," she sputters. "It's sort of nondescript Sith."

"Sith for hire," he corrects. "I'm your security tonight, babe. Remember? Ready to kill and be killed all for you."

Nestor and Cesi exchange glances and now for the first time, Kylo realizes that he and Rey are being watched closely by their friends. Nestor recovers fast as he starts talking logistics. "One speeder or two?"

"Two," Kylo decides. "You and Cesi are the decoy with the big speeder and the four trooper escorts on speeder bikes. Rey and I will follow in a small one just ourselves."

His longtime comrade in arms thinks it over and agrees. "Two is good in case we have to make a quick getaway. Do we have backup stationed anywhere close by?"

"Nope," Kylo answers. "Other than those four troopers, it's just you, me, and the girls. The First Knight and the Second Knight out on the town. Like old times." Yes, Kylo thinks, this is going to be fun. There's the thrill of being exposed and out in the open, the ever-present danger of being discovered, and the glorious eye candy that is Rey at his side. Plus, his best friend is here to watch his back. This will be great.

"I've got a blaster under my coat and a vibroblade in my boot. Cesi's got a snub pistol in her purse. Rey, are you armed?" Nestor asks.

"Yes."

"Where? That handbag is small," Kylo observes.

She looks him in the eye. "I'm armed."

Fuuuuck. He's going to spend half the night speculating about where she hid a weapon. Before Kylo can help himself, he grins. And it's a goofy grin as for a moment he forgets that they are friends. "Damn, babe, I didn't think it was possible, but you just got hotter. Well, okay," he decides with a nod to Nestor. "Then let's go."

Two speeders set off from the palace. One in the lead with an official escort. The other lags behind mixed in with the rest of the nighttime traffic. The speeders quickly arrive at their destination. The Metropolitan Club is a restaurant that used to be a private club until the most recent war. But the clientele is still the same as in the pre-Clone Wars era in which the club was originally founded. Rich Upper Level urbanites and well connected off-worlders. Kylo gazes appreciatively at the line of luxury speeders parked up front. To say this crowd is well heeled is an understatement. For a moment, he wonders whether Snoke ever came here. For certain, Palpatine in his Senate days would have crossed these doors.

The Flicks are in the speeder up front. As they disembark, the waiting crowd of paparazzi types starts snapping pictures and the few members of the legitimate press call out questions to the galaxy's First Couple.

 _Chancellor, is it true that the First Order is considering an apology for the Starkiller?_

 _Over here, Lady Flick. Smile big for us. Yes, that's it._

 _Who are you wearing, Cesi? Tell us who you are wearing._

 _When will you be announcing your legislative agenda for the first hundred days, Chancellor?_

This is no fortunate coincidence, this is a premeditated diversion. "Now's our chance—go!" Kylo urges Rey and she nearly bounds out of the speeder with him close behind, hustling her forward past the completely oblivious small crowd.

Rey is laughing at their ruse. She turns to whisper, "It's not just the Flick's speeder that is the decoy, it's the Flicks too," she realizes.

"Yes," Kylo admits. "People will look at the speeder out in the open and inside they will look at you and the Flicks."

"And everyone will ignore you," Rey finishes for him. "I like it," she approves. Then she struts up to the hostess stand. "The Flick party of four has arrived," Rey says coolly. She glances back through the glass doors to where Cesi and Nestor are still engaged with the press. "I'm sure they will be along in a moment."

The woman nods. She too appears a bit star struck by the Flicks. Things are going perfectly, Kylo thinks, until the hostess gestures to him and announces in an obviously affected accent, "Your security will have to wait outside. We don't serve their kind here, milady."

And just like that, the Emperor of the galaxy gets dissed. This is snooty Coruscant, after all.

Kylo is about to open his mouth when Rey steps closer to insist, "My security will remain with us at the table. He will blend in, I assure you. And it is much preferable than my bringing a squad of death troopers to surround us, don't you think?"

"Death troopers?" the hostess blinks and tears her eyes away from the Flicks who are now walking through the doors. The woman's eyes finally alight on Rey. Then, they narrow and Kylo sees recognition dawn. "Oooh," the hostess stammers. "Ooooh."

"Yes," Rey inclines her head in a regal nod. She's not Snoke's Sith princess for nothing. "I'm afraid that the Emperor insists that I am accompanied in the evenings. It's only during the day hours that I get to freely run about," the galaxy's famously casual Empress confides. "I would appreciate if you could make an exception tonight for my security. He will not cause any trouble."

The maître d' who has remained quiet through this exchange now starts bowing and scraping. Empress Rey coolly waves this off and they are shown to their table. Luckily, it is a booth in a small alcove, so no one has their back to the room. But to get there, the Flick party of four first has to cross the room full of diners. As expected, every head turns. This crowd is far too sophisticated to point and gawk, but the subtle signs are all there as many pairs of eyes watch their progress. These are mostly critical looks from smug people who are used to knowing where they fit in the hyper competitive Coruscant business and social pecking order. They can size up anyone at a quick glance. Kylo gets to gauge their reactions for he brings up the rear behind the Very Important Persons he ostensibly escorts. It's a bodyguard's job to canvas the environment for hostiles, and that allows Kylo to openly survey everyone. And truthfully, it's gratifying and a bit annoying to see every man's eye sweep over Rey who is in the lead. When they reach the booth, Kylo is glad that Rey will be tucked behind a table and away from prying eyes.

"Girls, sit on the inside," Nestor quietly orders.

To which, Kylo adds, "If anything goes down, duck under the table first. Stay there until one of us tells you to leave."

This is the easy improvisational rapport that he and Nestor had for years in battle. Anticipating and responding to each other's moves as they worked as a team. It's why Nestor Ren had been the only one of the original seven Knights of Ren who had survived the war. Nestor knows when to take command and when to follow orders. He is both collaborative and respects the chain of command. It's what makes his friend an excellent Chancellor.

Nestor starts ordering drinks as Cesi discretely points out who is who in the restaurant. Cesi Flick is Coruscant born and bred and she knows that people watching is something of a past time on the Upper Level. Plus, Lady Flick knows anyone who is anybody on Coruscant. If she doesn't know you, you're probably not worth knowing.

To Kylo's surprise, Rey starts intently studying the menu. When the waiter comes to take their order, she has a few quiet but very knowledgeable questions before she decides on the fish.

"You eat fish?" Kylo is surprised. "Since when do you eat fish?" he asks his desert girl. As soon as he says this, he regrets it. Because, of course, it's since Cade Biggs that Rey eats fish.

"Yes, I eat fish. I can cook fish now, too," she tells him with a proud smile. Rey explains that she took years of cooking classes back on Kuat. Coming from Jakku, she knew next to nothing about nutrition and food. So she had made a project out of it for a few years. "I cooked breakfast and dinner for a family of five most days. Although," she concedes, "When the kids were little, it was a lot of homemade pizza and mac n cheese. Not anything gourmet to brag about."

Kylo frowns. "You never told me that."

Rey shrugs. "You never asked. I was quite the housewife back in the day."

"You should have the kitchen make fish for you for dinner sometime," Kylo suggests. He himself never bothers with fish. He's a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Their nightly family meals pretty much reflect that.

It amuses Kylo that Cesi Flick seems a bit one-upped from a diet perspective by Rey ordering fish. Women like Lady Flick are always sanctimonious about what they don't eat. Kylo recalls now from his youth how it is an Upper Level lady's pastime to restrict things and then go on at length about the topic like dieting is a competitive sport. Rey, of course, doesn't fit that stereotype. She leans into to tell her friend, "Don't think I'm too healthy, Cesi. Because I am ordering the chocolate cake for dessert."

"So am I," declares Nestor in a rare moment of spousal independence.

But even Lady Flick is in a mood to cut loose this evening, it seems. "Well, I plan to drink my dessert calories tonight," she decides. "Honey, you may be carrying me home."

"I'm fine with that," Nestor approves. The Chancellor is pretty much is fine with anything his wife does, Kylo knows.

"When was the last time we went out like this?" Cesi happily wonders aloud as they chat about nothing.

"We never did this," Rey replies softly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"That business of Canto Bight doesn't count," Kylo agrees. He turns back to Rey. He would never have guessed that she could cook fish. Suddenly, it dawns on him that there is over a decade of Rey's life that he knows very little about. "Tell me something else I don't know about you."

"Like what?"

"Anything."

"Well . . . " Rey thinks for a moment. "I did stormtrooper training awhile back. Was that an exercise fad here too?" she asks Cesi. "These former troopers ran an exercise studio on Kuat. It's was mostly housewives like myself wanting to keep fit. It was a good workout, actually. But it always made me wonder about you," Rey glances over at him. And is it his imagination, or does she look a little guilty? "The company hired a bunch of vets after the war, so Kuat was a pretty pro-First Order world."

"It's basically the only First Order world in the Core," Nestor observes. He looks over now at a man and woman who are approaching the table. It's the Senator from Takodana and her husband come to greet the Chancellor and his wife.

This pair becomes the first of many visitors who drop by their table to say hello and to gain an introduction to the Empress. The trickle of curious friends and acquaintances quickly becomes a flood once it's apparent that the Flicks and the Empress are receptive. And now, a cross section of the Coruscant power elite present themselves to pay their respects. Senators, business moguls, social leaders, and media types. Each completely oblivious that Emperor Ren is the man eyeing them quietly from his position beside the Empress. If anyone thinks it's odd that the Empress permits her security to eat and drink on the job, they must chalk it up to her egalitarian eccentricities. This is an Empress who drives her own speeder and buys her own caf on the go, after all. Rey is well known for being impatient with formalities.

"This is why we rarely go out anymore," Nestor groans as he orders another drink. "I never get to eat my dinner because we keep getting interrupted. I want to get away from all these assholes, not eat dinner with each and every one of them," he complains.

"Better you than me," Kylo smirks.

Nestor takes a drink and shoots him a look. "I wish I were you pranking everyone incognito."

"Just keep drinking," Kylo tells his friend. Then he turns back to Rey. "Tell me more about all those years I missed." And wait-does 'tell me more about yourself' sound like a question you would ask on a date? Because this is not a date. This is just an old married couple and two friends having a night out.

"Oh, Kylo, it was very routine. Very domestic. You would find it dull."

"Try me," he persists.

"Really, it was dull. But in a good way. Mostly, it was a lot of kid stuff. Three kids is a lot of practices and recitals and homework to juggle—"

"Tell me about it," Cesi commiserates.

"When I wasn't keeping the family running, I was volunteering at the book fair or shelving books at the library. Honestly, it was only in the past few years that I started doing much with Cade's company. Before then, my focus was all domestic stuff." Rey smiles a little wistfully now. "It was boring, but it was normal.

He nods. "You always wanted normal."

"I got it for a long time. It was good, Kylo. Those years were really good for me." She looks around at the scene of overdressed rich assholes eating overpriced food. "In a way, maybe all that normal helped to prepare me for this. Because if I had been dropped into this straight from Jakku, then I . . ." her voice trails off. "Well, it would be harder than it is now," Rey finishes.

"I can't give you normal," Kylo says quietly. "I can give you anything you could possibly want, but I can't give you normal."

Rey nods. "I know."

"Ah, great," Nestor grumbles as he spies another set of people heading their way. "More visitors. Cesi, go powder your nose. Please," Nestor whines and that is definitely out of character. They all stand as Cesi and Rey depart ostensibly for the ladies room. And that's when Kylo begins to understand Nestor's request. He watches as the First Lady starts making the rounds of the restaurant tables greeting people with Rey in tow. The locus of all the action shifts to where Cesi and Rey make their way through the seated crowd.

"Look at her," Nestor is proud as he gazes across the room at his social maven wife. "No one knows how to work a room like Cesi. She was born knowing how to do this. She'll spend the next ten minutes saying hello to everyone and then there will be no excuse for them to come bother us. My wife is my secret weapon."

This praise is well merited, Kylo judges. For despite all her elitist attitudes and a tendency to be cool towards him personally, Kylo knows Cesi Flick to be an excellent First Lady. She is something of a force of nature in these settings, with an effervescent flow of small talk and connections that manages to make everyone she speaks to think that she genuinely enjoys their company.

Empress Rey stands somewhat aloof at her side. And damn, Kylo thinks as he looks his fill, Rey looks great tonight. It's hard to look away from her.

Nestor follows his eyes. "You and Rey seem to be on okay terms," he appraises. "That surprises me given what happened with the Biggs girl."

There Nestor goes again with his subtle attitude of skepticism towards Rey. His friend is scrupulously loyal and he worries that Rey is not. Kylo sets him straight. "Rey doesn't condone terror. Not everyone who disagrees with the First Order is a terrorist."

Nestor raises an eyebrow. "Listen to you sounding so moderate. If your family were around, they would be proud."

Kylo snorts. "Leia Organa was an extremist if there ever was one. And my uncle was a quitter. It's my grandfather who would understand," Kylo thinks out loud.

"And Snoke," Nestor opines. "Grandpa understood the long game. He would see what you are intending with Rey and with these reforms."

"Does that mean you have come around?" Nestor always follows orders, Kylo knows. But he also knows when his friend has misgivings.

"Yeah, I see the bigger picture you're going for," the Chancellor concedes. "I just wish I didn't have the hardliners haunting my office complaining about it. Kylo, you have no idea how many favors I have promised to get everyone onboard for this Starkiller resolution. I have spent a lot of credits promising to build factories and schools in the Rim in order to buy your votes."

Kylo shrugs. It's money well spent. He's all for economic development. "It will be worth it. You'll see. We did the hard part already rebooting the Empire. Now, we will do some fine tuning. Get your staff working on a speech about the education reforms to come. When you convene the Senate, we are going to focus on education." This is his plan. First the symbolic gesture of the Starkiller apology and then some real substantive change.

"So . . . I hear you gave the kid a sword." Nestor changes the topic. Neither of them wants to talk about the office tonight. This is supposed to be an escape.

"Yeah, that's right. Titus earned it. I gave him a goal and he met it." It's one of the few examples of maturity Kylo has seen from his otherwise whiney kid.

"And Rey is okay with a sword?" Nestor looks skeptical. "Skywalkers and swords can be a volatile combination." And that's perhaps the understatement of the year.

"It's a training sword," Kylo explains. "It stings and bruises, but it's not harmful. It's nothing a bacta patch can't heal in a few hours."

Nestor nods his approval at this and asks, "Is Titus any good?"

"I don't know," Kylo admits. "I haven't taught him anything yet. This has been a busy week. Plus, the kid is pissed at me about the Biggs girl. He blames me. So, I'm letting him cool off for a few days first."

"Why don't you talk to him?"

"His mother has. She's better at that sort of thing," Kylo makes excuses. He's defensive. "Look, if he's going to run the Empire someday, Titus needs to appreciate that requires making tough decisions sometimes. As it is, that girl got off very easy compared to the rest of her co-conspirators."

"She did get off easy," Nestor agrees.

"Yeah, well, because of it, I'm the bad guy in the kid's eyes. Again," Kylo grumbles. "He fucking hates me, Nestor." This is the most frustrating part of his family life. Because all that hate is just making his son Darker. And that's not a good thing. Skywalkers hating Skywalkers historically has a tragic outcome. Kylo sighs as he admits, "I was never going to let Titus stay with Biggs. I don't regret stealing my son back. But I never should have kept Rey in that cell." The cell . . . the chains . . . the kid's first impression of his long-lost father had been vindictive and cruel. Very Dark, very Sith. Like the kid himself is quickly becoming. And that is worrisome.

Nestor is not the type to say I told you so. He's more of a problem solver by nature. "You should spend more time with Titus," he suggests. "Kids need attention, Kylo. You still taking him flying on Saturdays?"

"Yeah."

"Good. You should do more stuff like that."

It's good advice, Kylo knows. "Yeah. I will."

They sit in mutual comfortable silence for a bit watching the girls across the room. Kylo gives himself permission to look so long as Rey doesn't notice he's looking. He doesn't want to mess up this friend thing they have going on. Tonight, Rey looks like a model in a fancy perfume ad, Kylo thinks. Like she should be laying back with a sultry look on her face. It's not anything Kylo would have remotely expected, but he's enjoying it all the same. Because, damn, she looks good. And she looks happy too. And that's even better.

"Well, look who's here," Nestor breaks his reverie. His friend does not sound pleased. And the fact that he instantly reverts to military jargon speaks volumes. Nestor is treating whoever this is like they're a target. "Hostile on your left, just passing by the kitchen door at nine o'clock and heading for the bar." Kylo follows his gaze and sees a group of people having a good time as they exit what must be a private party room in the back. In their midst, with his arm around a much younger, pretty girl, is Senator Cato Stegger.

Kylo's eyes narrow. "He's a dead man walking, Nestor. I just want to use him for a few more months."

"Stegger brings girls here all the time. You'd know that if you read the file I sent you," Nestor informs him. "Watch the bartender across the room. He's ex-Order and he's on Intel's payroll. He keeps the drinks flowing for Stegger and listens in to report back. See him now." Kylo watches as the bartender digs in his pocket to retrieve a comlink and makes a discrete, quick call. Then the bartender hails the Senator who is standing close by, offering the usual.

Stegger declines. Tonight, it doesn't look like the liberal Senator wants to drink. Kylo watches as he whispers something to the girl at his side and excuses himself to approach Cesi and Rey. Because, of course, Cato Stegger makes a beeline for the two most powerful and most beautiful women in the room.

"I don't like this," Nestor says flatly. And Kylo doesn't like it either as he watches his wife greet his enemy. Stegger is looking her up and down in a way that makes Kylo's blood boil. Rey seems oblivious to it. Or maybe she's ignoring it. But Kylo is not. Instantly, he's all aggressive, possessive Sith.

"Want me to go break that up?" Nestor offers.

"No, let it play out," Kylo says softly. He wants to see these dynamics in action. "If anyone breaks that up, it should be me as her security—"

"Easy, Kylo." His friend of many years shoots him a concerned look. "Don't make a scene."

"It's fine. Let's give it another minute." And now Rey is smiling as she is introduced to the rest of the group Stegger is with. They seem to have moved their party from a back room to the bar. That ups the buzz of the main room considerably. From the body language, Stegger must ask Cesi and Rey to join him but they decline. And now, the girls return to the table and dinner resumes in time for Rey to eat her chocolate cake. Even uptight Lady Flick relents to sneak a bite, Kylo notices.

When dinner is over, the party from the palace makes their way out. But this time they are followed. It's Senator Stegger pushing through the small crowd milling at the door to intercept them.

"Chancellor." The Senator nods politely to the Flicks. This time he's alone. The girl from earlier is nowhere to be found. Stegger turns to Rey. "Empress, may I have a word?" This is respectfully said, but Kylo's sense of danger is pricked.

Rey agrees. Kylo in his guise as security follows her and Stegger slightly apart from the Flicks. They are out of earshot but well within view as glowering Nestor pointedly looks on. Kylo stands sentry behind Rey as the Senator ignores him and makes his move.

"Two speeders?" Stegger observes, looking over Rey's shoulders. Of course, the palace speeders are instantly brought up. The Empress and the Chancellor don't have to wait at the valet line. "Good," Stegger decides. "Rey, ditch the Flicks and come with me. We should talk in private."

"I'll come by your office tomorrow," Rey offers. "I have some ideas on education reform that I want to—"

"No," the Senator steps closer as he insists. He lowers his voice. "Come by my apartment tonight. Meet me there in ten minutes and bring your guard. You'll be fine. What I have to say doesn't belong in my office."

"Then say it here, Senator," Rey says pointedly but with a smile.

Atta girl, Kylo thinks. His girl is no pushover.

"What I have to say doesn't belong in public either." Once again, Stegger is looking Rey up and down in a way Kylo doesn't like.

This time, Rey picks up on it. "I told you that this relationship is strictly business, Senator." Rey's prim comment instantly raises Kylo's suspicions.

"This is business, Empress. Hear me out. My friends and I have been talking. This is important." And now, Kylo's suspicions are heightened still.

 _Tell him yes._ Kylo speaks to Rey in the Force. She's surprised by this and even physically flinches a little. _Don't turn around. Tell Stegger that you'll go to his apartment._

Rey hesitates.

"It's important," the Senator presses. "You'll want to hear what I have to say."

 _Say yes._

"Alright, Cato," Rey relents. "But just for a few minutes."

Now, the night just became very interesting, Kylo decides.


	37. Chapter 37

Rey is at the controls of the speeder, very reluctantly going along with Kylo's plan. "I don't like this," she tells him for the third time. Because going to Senator Stegger's apartment with Kylo is definitely a bad idea. Rey can't decide if she is being set up by the Senator or by Kylo or by both men.

"You sure seem to know where you are going," Kylo observes as Rey expertly weaves through Coruscant traffic. He shoots Rey a look. "I thought you said that you had only been to this guy's apartment once."

Is Kylo jealous of Stegger? Suspicious of her? Rey can't tell. Maybe it's all of the above. "I have a good sense of direction," she informs him. "You develop that when you live in the desert and everything looks like sand. And this was your idea, remember?" she glares at him. All the bonhomie of the evening has melted away and Rey is now on edge. "This feels like a trap."

"Then for our next move, we'll spring the trap," Kylo reasons. He seems far too excited by the uncertainty that has presented itself for Rey's taste. Because, of course, the Sith loves even the smallest hint of danger. "I want to find out what Stegger is up to. It will be fine. I'll be there."

"Yes, you and no one else," Rey points out. "Haven't you moved beyond doing your own reconnaissance, Kylo?"

"Are you nervous?" he accuses. "Because you seem awfully nervous about this given you work with this guy a lot."

"I just don't like the idea of you pulling your sword to kill Cato." That's where tonight is headed, Rey fears.

"Oh, so it's Cato now, is it?"

"Well . . . yes."

"Does he call you Rey?"

"Sometimes. Lots of people do."

"Well, relax. Because I already know all about Stegger's illegal activities and he's still breathing. I want information, Rey. Get him talking. We've tied him to all sorts of terror groups. He is the hub that touches many spokes. It's a conspiracy in the making."

"It's not his ties to extremist groups that worry me," Rey grumbles.

"Yeah? Then what has you so worked up?" Kylo demands. "Is it because you have to remind him that this relationship is strictly business?"

Yes, it is. "Showing up at a man's apartment late at night could give him the wrong impression." Especially dressed like she is now.

"Don't worry, I'll be there if he hits on you—"

"That's what I'm afraid of!"

Kylo's eyes narrow. "This is more than just his reputation. He has hit on you," Kylo deducts.

"Yes." There's no point in hiding it. "But he took the refusal like a gentleman and he has never once tried it again." Well, except for the occasional suggestive remark he makes here and there. But Rey omits that part. "Just look at me-"

"I have been all night long," Kylo grins.

And that just proves her point. "This is not exactly professional attire. I look like I'm leading him on. It's a mixed message, Kylo—"

"Oh, you're very good at those, Rey." And what the fuck is that supposed to mean? "A woman should be able to wear what she wants without inviting unwelcome attention," Kylo announces primly.

"That's a nice sentiment but we live in the real world," Rey shoots back. If there ever was a pragmatic realist, it's Rey of Jakku. "The real world is why I wouldn't let my daughters wear short skirts on dates and it's why I don't normally drop in on gentlemen work friends dressed like this late at night." The speeder is pulling up to Cato Stegger's gorgeous rooftop apartment now. She turns to Kylo. "Promise me that you will keep your cool. Don't blow your cover. I can handle this guy."

"Okay."

"Promise me!"

"Fine, I promise. Geez, he lives here?" Kylo is looking at the distinctive pre-Clone Wars era architecture of the ultra-expensive apartment building. It's one of the few intact structures of this vintage left in the Upper Level. Kylo curls his lip at all the aristocratic nostalgia it represents. "Of course, that fucker lives here. If he squints his eyes, he can pretend it's still the Old Republic."

"Shhh! He's coming!"

Cato Stegger gallantly holds out a hand to assist Rey as she alights from the speeder. He doesn't so much as spare Kylo a single glance. "Leave your man in the speeder. He can wait outside. Come," the Senator ushers her inside.

"Cato, I'm supposed to keep my security with me," Rey murmurs. "Let him tag along. He'll be no bother. It's what my husband wants."

"Your husband isn't here," Stegger points out.

And, well, actually . . .

"I have my orders from the Emperor himself." Kylo speaks up from behind in a tone that entertains no argument.

"Fine, come in," their host instructs without enthusiasm. "You can wait by the door and watch for intruders. This is a private meeting concerning confidential Senate business. Just the Empress and myself."

"Understood, Senator," Kylo nods. He conspicuously stations himself by the door facing out.

"He doesn't look like any praetorian guard or First Order man I've ever seen," Cato ponders as he and Rey continue walking deep into the apartment. "That guy looks more like a thug than a bodyguard."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. I think he's been with the Order for years," Rey is vague. Then, "Oh!" Rey yelps out loud and stops in her tracks the moment she feels Kylo's mind suddenly invade hers. It's a momentary twinge of pain, akin to a sharp pinch, that subsides immediately. Because Kylo isn't seeking to control her mind and sift through her memories. He's just loitering to eavesdrop. He is standing by the door out of earshot several rooms away, but thanks to the Force Kylo might as well be standing right next to her.

"Is everything okay?" Cato voices concern, taking the opportunity to slip an arm around her.

"Okay? Owww . . . " And whoops. Did she say that out loud?

 _Yes, you did._

"I might have had a little too much wine with dinner," Rey improvises, pretending to recover from a small stumble. "Er . . . wine doesn't mix well with these high heels." She rights herself and straightens her dress. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"Good," Stegger smiles. "The night is still young and you can take off those shoes. So come, let's have another drink, shall we?" And remembering Kylo's instructions to get Cato talking, Rey quickly agrees. While the Senator disappears a moment, Rey wanders out onto the rooftop terrace she remembers from her prior visit. The view is amazing.

"Here we go." The Senator reappears to hand her a glass of wine. "To you, Empress." He tips his glass her direction before downing a sip.

"To you," Rey responds and does the same. "This is reckless of me," she smiles over rim of her glass at her host. "I shouldn't be drinking and I shouldn't be here."

 _Are you flirting with him?_

"Rey, this evening is going to get very reckless," Stegger responds in that weirdly innuendo way of his. He looks her up and down. "Ren was a fool to put you in a cell all those years. Is that man blind?"

Momentarily flustered by the implied compliment, Rey turns away to look out on Coruscant. "My husband is very controlling," she says quietly in a tone of warning.

Stegger nods. "I could see that. Fascists usually are."

 _I am not a fascist. I'm a Sith._

Rey shoots the Senator a look. "Did you ask me here just to insult my husband?"

Cato doesn't answer. Instead, he compliments her again. "Nice dress. I'm surprised that Ren lets you out looking this good. But maybe he doesn't notice since he's too busy with those young girls." Rey doesn't respond. And that must egg Stegger on because he takes it up a notch. "You should be with a man who shares your same values. A man who appreciates you."

Rey knows where this is heading, so she gets right to the point. She reiterates the message she told Stegger the last time she was here. "Cato, I am not looking for a lover."

 _Grrrr._

"That dress says otherwise."

 _GRRRRRRrrrr._

"I didn't wear it for you."

 _chuckle_

"What is it that you wanted to tell me, Cato?" Rey prompts him again. Surely she is here for a reason other than for the Senator to make another pass at her. Rey is not about to hang around for that while Kylo gets all worked up over it in the next room. Plus, it's distracting to have Kylo snorting and snarky in her head. "I'm here because you said this was important," Rey prods Stegger again.

Cato gives her a long measuring look before he speaks. But first, he takes a deep fortifying sip of wine. He's a little nervous, she sees. "Rey, that student protest rally you agreed to attend has been cancelled."

 _Student protest rally? Really, Rey?_

"Oh?" she reacts.

"The protest had a dual function. It was intended to raise awareness for missing detainees. It was also intended as a diversion to draw a police presence to the rally and away from another event."

"What event?" Rey asks the obvious follow-up question.

"An event." Stegger is deliberately vague. "Somehow, the First Order got wind of what was afoot and they scuttled it. The Order did a raid late last week at a Resistance safe house in the Mid Level. Rey, they executed everyone there. That same day, they arrested half of those student leaders you met in my office They are being charged as co-conspirators for terror."

Instantly, Rey thinks of Malia Biggs. "Are they conspirators for terror?" Rey asks Stegger bluntly. It's clear the Senator is now.

"It depends on how much information you think makes you a co-conspirator," he answers. "Some knew more than others, but none of them knew very much. Not that it matters now. They are all going to die. Anyone who has any remote connection to this plot is going to die."

 _He's right._

Rey says nothing, thinking again of Malia Biggs who was whisked from the palace landing platform in her father's transport safely away from all this. Solely because of her relationship to Rey. Rey wonders now if Stegger and his friends had been the ones to enlist Malia to their cause. Had they known of her wealthy family and figured there were credits to be blackmailed there for the cause? Had Malia herself revealed her secret connection to Emperor Ren? The comlink Malia had given Titus takes on new significance too. Now, Rey is worried she is not the first in the Imperial family who these people have sought to befriend.

 _I already took that comlink, Rey. Days ago_.

That's reassuring, she thinks.

Stegger is pleading the students' case. "The First Order is making an example out of those kids by coming down hard in a show of force. Those kids are innocents for the most part. But that won't matter. Not unless someone important champions their cause."

Rey knows where this is leading. "How about you? You're their Senator."

"I can only do so much. I am too close to this."

"Because you helped to plan the event?" Rey asks pointedly.

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't ask that question," Cato responds. "Will you help

those kids? Will you intercede for them?"

"I'll think about."

Clearly, this is not the answer he had hoped to hear. Stegger's face hardens. "Don't take too much time, Empress. First Order interrogations aren't pretty."

"What makes you think I can help?" Rey challenges.

"Because Ren listens to you."

Rey brushes this off. "He listens to me on big picture issues. On the direction to lead, not the specifics. I don't intervene in stuff like this."

"There's a first time for everything. Let him see you in that dress, Empress, and he will be putty in your hands. Like me." Stegger is back to his smarmy innuendo self and it's especially annoying given the serious topic at hand.

"It's not that simple." Rey can feel her temper rise. She's uncomfortable with being asked to do this. From the beginning, she has told Cato Stegger that she wants nothing to do with extremists. "Kylo didn't win the galaxy so that your friends can plan to blow up First Order garrisons and walk free."

Cato doesn't deny it. "You always know more than you let on, don't you?"

"I could say the same for you," Rey replies.

"All I am asking is that you promote justice by helping these kids get fair treatment commensurate with their involvement." Stegger steps closer to lower his voice. He is very serious now. "Rey, this is an opportunity for you. Prove your bona fides in this and there may be those willing to support you in a bid to replace Ren."

 _Ah . . . Now, we get to the good stuff._

"You have the cred with the Order, the Palpatine heritage, and the Force. And if you can manage to gain the goodwill of my friends without alienating the party loyalists, you will have a powerful coalition. Ren has a lot of enemies. And not all of them are on my side of the political spectrum. There are plenty in the Order who he has alienated through the years."

"Are you suggesting I position myself to stage a coup?"

 _Keep him talking. I want details._

"I'm saying that you could be a powerful voice for positive change. You know, as Sheev Palpatine's great-granddaughter, you might have a better claim to rule than Kylo Ren."

This is an argument only a Coruscant aristocrat would make, Rey thinks. That breeding matters more than brute power. But she's Rey of Jakku and she grew up under Unkar Plutt respecting brute power. In many ways, her background is what had primed her to understand Kylo Ren. And so, Rey's eyes narrow on Cato now as she explains, "Emperor Ren conquered the galaxy. That's all the right to rule he needs. But Kylo too has a strong claim to his position. He is Darth Vader's grandson and the Apprentice to Emperor Palpatine's Sith Master. He's been schooled for this job since he was fifteen, Cato. He is ruthless. Power is his god and he will not relinquish it easily."

 _I love how you get me._

"Fair enough. But he didn't conquer you. It rather seems in some ways like you might have conquered him," Stegger observes. "Rey, he is vulnerable to you and you are close to him. You have all the access you need to make something happen."

"You mean like an event?" Rey gets right to the point.

Stegger meets her eyes. "Yes. If we work together with my friends, we could be rid of him. Once and for all."

 _Keep him talking. Let him talk._

"And then what?" Rey wants to know.

"Then we form a democratic government with you as titular Empress. You would be a figure head mostly, Rey. The real power would reside with the people where it belongs."

"No," Rey corrects the Senator sharply. "First, there will be a civil war. Let's not pretend otherwise. It was a year after the Old Emperor died at Endor before the Empire fell at Jakku. If Kylo dies, then Nestor and the generals and the rest of the party loyalists will step up to fill the power vacuum. Even if some are enemies of Kylo, the First Order is still very unified by common goals. And they have enormous firepower at their command. Don't kid yourself that your liberal friends will remain allied with Kylo's far right First Order enemies for one second after he is dead."

 _Rey, you're supposed to pretend to be interested. Stop talking him out of it._

But the Senator does not dispute her words. "Killing Ren will set things in motion. It will be the catalyst for the change we need."

And what was that line Stegger had once fed her? That extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. That is the attitude of an assassin. It is the justification of a man trying to start a war. This is everything Rey wants to avoid. Kylo, now too. And what a strange irony that it is the Sith who wants peace this time around.

"You might end up with a far less tolerant leader in the end," Rey warns, thinking of First Order true believer and second-in-command Nestor Flick. She fixes Cato with a hard look. "What about the reforms that are in the works? I thought that you and I were jointly working towards reforms. Kylo cares about those reforms. There is a peaceful means to achieve our goals-"

"Those reforms are a step in the right direction, but they are not enough. And with Ren in power, they can be revoked at his whim. Ren will do what is politically expedient at the time."

"That's not true. None of this is politically expedient for him." Not in the short term, at least.

 _Rey, you're doing this all wrong. Don't try to talk him out of it._

But Rey is far too direct of a personality for all this guile and subterfuge. She is blunt now. "You're asking me to kill my husband, Cato."

The Senator hastens to assure her, "My friends will do the dirty work. You just have to get us the opportunity, Rey. Your hands will stay clean. Like mine do."

"It's the same thing—"

"I'm asking you to free yourself and to free the galaxy from Ren. You deserve better than a man who locks you away and threatens to kill you. You should be valued for something more than your pedigree and your Force."

"What about my son?" Rey demands.

Stegger hesitates and it's telling.

"There would be no hereditary office, Rey. Your son would be a private citizen living a normal life."

 _Don't fall for that._

She won't. "And what happens when my son comes of age as the most powerful Force-user the galaxy has seen in generations? What happens when he takes up his father's sword and dons his father's helmet and sets out to regain his father's Empire and finish what Kylo Ren started? What happens when the Rim and all the former members of the Order flock to support Emperor Ren's son? What then, Cato?"

 _You can't keep a Skywalker down._

"We'll have to figure out a solution for your son," Cato equivocates. "There is a lot to be planned out, Rey. And you would be a voice at the table making it happen." And now the Senator issues a threat for an incentive. "This will happen, Rey. With or without your cooperation, it will eventually happen. But this will be so much easier with your help." He steps forward to crowd her space now, looking down on her. "I can protect you and your son if you help."

 _Don't tell him no. Be noncommittal. String him along._

"I'll think about it." Then Rey adds, "But first, I'll get you an answer about those kids." She lies, "I feel badly about those poor kids."

 _Tomorrow. Tell him you'll have an answer for him tomorrow._

"I'll raise it with Kylo tonight," she promises. "I understand the . . . uh . . . urgency of the situation. I'll contact you tomorrow first thing."

Stegger now steps even closer still. He's staring down into her worried eyes. "Rey, I know that deep down you are one of us. Find your courage again. You did this before with Luke Skywalker and the Resistance. You can do it again."

This terrorist hard sell rubs Rey the wrong way. "You're no Luke Skywalker, Cato Stegger," she answers tartly.

 _laughing_

Stegger is undeterred. "I may not be a Jedi, but I have powerful friends, Rey. We are not in this alone."

 _Ask him about the friends._

"Who are these friends?"

"When the time is right, you will meet them," Cato promises. "But first, I need you to convince Ren on the students. My friends need to see that you are one of us in your words and in your deeds. That you are willing to take risks like us. Empress, this is high treason. My friends do not trust easily, although they are inclined favorably towards you."

"From Empire Day," she guesses.

"Yes."

 _Pretend like you are interested._

"Do you think this could actually work?" Rey looks up to search Stegger's handsome face. Her voice drops to a near whisper. "Cato, I have tried to be free of him before. There are things you don't know about the past. . . "

"This is about the future, Rey. I'm giving you a way out. Help us and we will help you be free."

 _That's it. Look scared_. _Like you're tempted but afraid._

"It would have to be the perfect plan. There would be no room for error," she worries aloud. Then Rey casts a warning look. "I'd be taking an awful risk, Cato. This had better work."

"I understand."

"And my son would have to be safe. I would have to be confident that my son would be safe. Tell your friends that my son must be safe."

"I will."

Rey hurriedly downs the rest of her drink. Then she sets down her glass and wanders a few steps farther onto the terrace. The night air is cool and Rey crosses her arms to rub at her bare shoulders. It is a defensive, vulnerable posture. "I don't know . . . " She shakes her head and pretends to mull it over. "I just don't know, Cato . . . "

"Hey." Cato follows her to step up close from behind. "Are you cold?" His hands now rest on her arms.

"I'm scared," Rey admits and it's the truth. She is scared for what this means for Kylo, for herself, and for her son. "You don't know Kylo like I do. You don't know what he is capable of—"

"I've heard the stories."

"They're probably all true."

 _They are_.

"Help us and I will protect you and your son," Cato whispers directly into her ear. Then he sweeps her hair to one side to uncover the slope of her shoulder. "Once Ren is gone, he will never hurt you again . . . " And now, Stegger drops a kiss on her bare skin. Apparently, all this talk of treason has put him in the mood for romance. And in the moment, Rey can't help it. She shivers under his seduction. Because it's chilly now and his lips are unexpectedly soft and warm. Because the scratch of his beard reminds her of the scrape of Cade Bigg's beard against her skin. Because it's been so long since Rey has felt a man's touch. Not since that awful night with Kylo that she doesn't know how to feel about.

 _What the FUCK, Rey_? Stop him!

Cato nuzzles her neck now. He kisses her again and Rey sucks in a quick breath. She knows this needs to stop.

"Please . . . " she stammers. "Cato, please don't—"

"I aim to please," the Senator answers huskily. Cato hooks his thumb under the wispy strap of her dress and moves it to the side to kiss where it had lain. And now Rey is preoccupied with keeping her dress up while Stegger takes full advantage.

 _Don't you dare cheat on me! And with this traitor fucker of all guys! I'm going to kill him! I am going to pull my sword and kill him-_

"No!" Did she say that out loud?

 _Yes, you did._

She meant it to Kylo. Well, maybe to both men. This mind connection is so confusing.

"Don't be shy. I won't hurt you," Cato croons. And now he is kissing her jaw and her neck. Damn, this man has skills and he's just kissing her shoulder. What can he do when he really gets going, Rey wonders. If he's the experienced player Cesi says, then Cato Stegger must be very good in bed.

 _He's nothing. I can keep you up all night, Rey. You should see what I can do with these metal fingers you gave me._

"Stop!" Did she say that out loud?

 _Yes, you did_.

"Please don't."

 _Please don't? What the fuck kind of 'no' is that? Knee him in the balls, Rey._

She whirls in the Senator's arms now. Gazing up at him, she whispers, "Cato, we can't do this. We can't."

 _No means no, asshole_.

Stegger's arms creep around her and now his lips find hers. And, oh my. Yes, this man has skills. And a beard. She has missed kissing a man with a beard.

 _Rey, stop! You're killing me! And I am killing him! I am reaching for my sword. Do you hear me? I am pulling the sword._

Kissing Cato Stegger is like one of those holonet moments when the music swells and the camera zooms in and time stops for the hero and heroine. This is rapture like Rey remembers from the old days with Kylo. When she would lie back with him on top, his hungry lips on hers. Kylo in bed was full of endearments between persistent, seductive kisses. I love you, I need you, I want you. There were no sweeter words than those for the lonely, orphan girl from Jakku. Rey is in Cato Stegger's arms now but all she can think of is the man in the next room. Kylo is always in the next room, it seems. So close, but so far away. Rey will never again let herself succumb to Kylo Ren, even if she thinks about it more often lately than she cares to admit. Like now. Like right now as she wishes that her hands were in Kylo's dusky thick locks and it was the Sith's hot breath on her cheek.

 _Well, alright. I guess that's okay_. _But that's enough. Stop it, Rey_. _Stop. It. Now._

Rey pulls back and breaks away. She's supposed to lead this guy on to treason, not to sex. She's not exactly sure how that kiss had happened. But she knows it is far more dangerous than any words spoken here tonight. And, truthfully, Rey is actually a little surprised and impressed by Kylo's restraint. But things can't go any farther. "He'll kill you," Rey warns Cato. It sounds like exaggeration, but it's true. "If we do this, Kylo will kill you."

 _Slowly. I will kill him slowly._

"I'll take the risk," Stegger volunteers. He steps forward to take her hand, his eyes intent and his handsome face full of lust. "Come inside with me now," Cato urges huskily.

Rey skitters out of his grasp. "Cato, I don't want that," she cries aloud. And now, she starts improvising. "We can't risk this! Cato, you'll end up dead and then who will lead the cause for freedom?"

"You're worth the risk," vows the Senator with his bedroom eyes.

And now, for lack of a better idea, Rey starts dramatically wailing. "But the galaxy needs you! It needs patriots like you. We can't risk this! Cato, you'll end up dead!"

 _I am rolling my eyes, Rey. This is so Across the Stars_. _Slow clap, babe, slow clap_.

"This is business. It can never be anything more." Rey looks away and covers her mouth with her hand as if in dismay. Kylo's howling laughter in her mind is threatening to make her giggle. "For your own sake, we cannot risk this." Then Rey has to turn away because she feels a smile tug at her lips. For good measure she peeks back over her shoulder at Stegger and adds with feigned regret, "I wish we could, Cato. If we could be together, you know I would. Cato, I think about it all the time . . . "

 _Hey!_

Rey whirls back around, now determined to extricate herself ASAP. Before Kylo charges in with a lit sword or she bursts into a hysterical mix of laughter and tears. "Cato, this has taken too long and I will be missed. I need to go. Kylo will be suspicious and I need him receptive if I'm going to ask him about those students."

Cato nods reluctantly. "Maybe another time. What will you tell him about tonight?"

"That we met to discuss the education reforms. You're worried it's all stormtrooper training in disguise—that sort of thing. Cato, my guard is here so I can't hide that we met." Rey looks to the exit as she says this. "My guard is loyal to Kylo, not to me."

"Yes, I gathered that. Will Ren believe you?" Stegger is worried. "We know that he can read people's minds."

Rey nods. "It's true. But don't worry. If he asks too many questions, I'll distract him. That usually works."

Stegger frowns, then recoils. "Don't tell me anymore."

 _Metal fingers . . . I've got those metal fingers . . ._

Rey endeavors to look resigned to her plight now as she outright lies, "Don't judge me, Cato. It's how I have stayed alive all these years." Rey finishes that statement with a heavy sigh.

 _Oh, the martyrdom! Are you like the Scheherazade of sex?_

"I'm so sorry, Rey." Cato Stegger looks utterly sincere in the moment as he pities her. And for the first time tonight, Rey feels a pang of regret for her ruse. Cato might be a ladies' man and a closet extremist, but he is not a completely bad person. He's like Poe Dameron and so many others Rey recalls from the Resistance during the war years. Idealists who would stop at nothing to help the cause. And, in some ways, that is not that different from how the old Kylo had been. From the beginning, Senator Stegger has reminded Rey of Kylo.

 _I don't see it. I don't see it at all. In fact, I'm offended, Rey._

She ignores this.

"I don't suppose you would stab him in bed for us," Stegger makes a lame attempt at humor now.

He's not expecting Rey's serious response. "Cato, I tried that once. It didn't work. I only cut his hand off."

"You cut his hand off?" the Senator parrots back.

"His right hand is mechanical," Rey reveals matter of fact. "It's why he wears the gloves."

Cato Stegger is impressed. "You really are one of us," he sizes her up thoughtfully.

 _Say yes._

"Yes. I am," she lies. "Goodnight, Cato."

"Goodnight, brave Rey. Be safe."

* * *

Rey breaks their silence as the speeder pulls away. "You're remarkably calm about this," she observes through gritted teeth. Rey is upset and driving fast. Her diffuse fear, frustration, and anger are screaming at him in the Force.

He shrugs. "To be Sith is to be marked for death. This isn't the first plot and it won't be the last. I'm used to this, Rey."

"I'm not," she snaps back.

"I'm not the only one marked for death in this plot," he continues calmly. "Titus is too."

"I know."

"The galaxy saw just an inkling of what our boy is capable of on Empire Day. But they saw enough. Any plot will eventually plan on taking out him too, Rey. It's why I was glad to give him a sword. Titus is going to need it. I want him prepared to defend himself."

"I agree."

"Good. Tomorrow, I start training him with a sword. Rey, I want you to be there for a refresher yourself."

She looks over at him and scowls. "I don't want a sword."

"You will carry a sword." It is an order, not a request.

"I don't want a—"

He overrides her. "I have indulged your disdain for security, Rey. But if you will not be protected, then you must protect yourself. I have many enemies. If nothing else, tonight should show you how my enemies will seek to use you for their own aims." He matches Rey's hard look now with one of his own. "Stegger and his crew want you for an ally for now. But next week, they might decide they prefer a hostage."

Rey makes a face but she nods to the truth of his words. "Does it have to be a sword?" She reaches with one hand into her lap and pulls aside the fabric of her skirt where her dress is slit. Rey has a small blaster strapped high inside her right thigh. "Cesi gave it to me," she explains.

Kylo stares at all that flesh encircled with two leather straps and a small holster in between. He sucks in a quick breath as he sees the gun nestled not far from the spidery nude lace of her panties. Damn, that's hot, he thinks. Rey has been hiding that weapon all night between her legs. That is really, really hot.

"That works," he croaks out weakly. Then, he tears his eyes away. They are supposed to be friends and allies now, nothing more. Kylo had sort of forgot that fact during the ridiculous love scene with Cato Stegger.

Kylo swallows hard and changes the topic. Where was he? Oh, yes, Stegger's plot. "I will show those students mercy," he informs Rey. "After their interrogations, they will get a fair trial. They will most likely spend some time in prison, but they will live. Tell Stegger that first thing tomorrow. They will get full due process of law and a jury of their peers will decide their fate."

"So, you're playing along?" Rey surmises with a marked lack of enthusiasm.

"I'm springing the trap, remember? Mercy for the students will earn me some public goodwill. It will Make me look measured in my response to this threat. And I want it to look like you have achieved what Stegger is asking so you can impress his terrorist friends."

She nods and he continues. "Rey, I want to find out who his backers are. Where the money is coming from. We know some, but not all of Stegger's friends." Kylo gives Rey a serious look. "I'm going to need your continued help in this. I can't send some Intel agent to handle this. It has to be you. Unfortunately, this entire plot revolves around you."

"I know. But don't you dare ask me to sleep with him—"

"What?" Did he hear right?

"I'm not sleeping with Stegger, Kylo! Not to get more information about his plot."

"Of course, not!" Does Rey really think he would ask that of her? Kylo is outraged. "Do you think I liked having that guy kiss my wife?"

"I told you that might happen!" Rey hollers back. "And I'm not your wife. Not like that. Not anymore."

And now, Rey starts trying to compromise. His Jakku girl grew up in a barter economy and her natural inclination is always to make a deal. "Maybe if you gave in to more of his ideas, Stegger would back down."

Kylo dismisses this idea. "He won't. I know his type. I grew up with a mother like him. There will never be enough concessions for people like him. Stegger and his band of fanatics don't compromise, Rey. And most of them are just itching to be martyred for their glorious cause. He doesn't want incremental change, he wants revolution. And to accomplish that, he would cheerfully kill me and kill Titus." He shoots Rey a sideways look. "Maybe even you too. Your connection to me will always make you suspect in their eyes."

"Just like my connection to the Resistance will always make me suspect to the First Order," Rey says sourly.

"Yes," he confirms. Rey's past is problematic to everyone but him, it seems. "In war, there is no middle ground. Compromise is dead the moment the first shots are fired." And that's why Emperor Ren is determined to diffuse conflicts before they flare up. Peace is a lie, but conflict can be managed. War, he has learned, cannot. And its aftereffects are sometimes as challenging as the war itself.

"Are you sure you can't discredit him by accepting more of his ideas?" Rey keeps looking for solution. "Then, when Stegger wants more, he will look unreasonable, right?"

"I don't give in to terrorists. Especially those who threaten my family. I will tolerate some opposition and dissent. But only to a degree and only when it is nonviolent. When my critics threaten violence, that's when I crack down hard."

"I understand." And from her tone, Kylo can tell that she doesn't disagree. His girl hates war, eschews violence, and loves their son. Tonight's plot had managed to trigger her on all fronts. Stegger could not have chosen a better pitch to alienate Rey, especially coming on the heels of what happened with Malia Biggs. Kylo would call it luck, but he knows there is no such thing as luck.

Still, he is touched by Rey's natural reaction to support his goals. For all their differences, he and Rey have far more in common politically now than they did years ago. And there is also their young son. Kylo looks over at the woman the galaxy thinks to be his wife. He feels like he should acknowledge their solidarity. "Your loyalty tonight was genuine. Thank you." He is sincere.

Rey looks confused a moment. Then she pushes back. "Don't thank me. This isn't about you, Kylo. I don't want a galaxy at war again. I don't want my son to lose the only father he has left. And you know that I never wanted to be an Empress, let alone to rule an Empire. There is nothing in Stegger's plot that appeals to me." Rey looks so unsettled now as she nervously tucks and re-tucks her hair behind her ear. "So long as you continue on your path to reform, things will improve," she concludes. "You are the better choice, Kylo. That's all."

That's all. Kylo can't help but feel disappointed at her summation. By the complete lack of sentiment behind her words. Still, he persists. Wanting Rey to at least admit that they are now allies of her own free will. "Together, we can make things better," he urges as they stop at a traffic light.

Stressed Rey looks over his way. "We had better, Kylo. Because I don't want to regret not telling Stegger yes."

She's all Jakku in the moment. The girl outside her AT-AT poised with her stick. It makes him smile. "You couldn't kill me," he says softly. And it's something of a teasing endearment coming from a Sith.

It sets her off. "I don't want to kill you! Or anyone! You know that," she glares and then falls silent. Kylo does too now, for Cato Stegger has given him much food for thought. And the more Kylo thinks, the more important tonight seems. And that only gets him thinking more.

There are times in life when you can sense change, he knows. You don't have to be a Force user to sense it in your personal life, in your surroundings, in others. Maybe it's a change in circumstance, a change in viewpoint, or a change in attitude. Or maybe you can't quite pinpoint what exactly is changing. But something is different or soon will be. It is unsettling. Stressful. Upsetting, even, to try and make sense of it all. For that is our natural inclination—to make sense of things. To put what happens in life into a framework we know and understand. But when occurrences don't fit into our expected narrative is when we are truly tested as individuals. Forced to reconsider who we are and what matters to us.

Old Snoke had firmly believed the adage that Force-users are agents of change. The Muun had plenty of evidence for this teaching, for history is writ large with the important, pivotal accomplishments and defeats of the Jedi and the Sith. But those watershed moments, those climaxes in the never-ending tale of history, tend to overshadow things. Because most change is not momentous, it is incremental. We just fail to recognize it for what it is until it matters in a big way.

He sees now that Rey is the recurring agent of change in his life. She appeared on Jakku and stole his heart before walking away the first time. Rey's initial rejection had disappointed him, yes. But more importantly, it had unwittingly served to flush his uncle out of hiding. Stuck with the Resistance after the Starkiller, Rey had resisted his mother's and his uncle's overtures before she ultimately found her way back to him. But only a few brief months after that, it was Rey's abduction by General Hux that had brought together three generations of Skywalker men for a tragic confrontation. Then Rey was back again and she was his princess for a brief time. Rey's quest for peace had failed twice, but her ideas had lingered and ultimately prevailed so that even after she left him, her influence remained. Because even in death, Rey was that important to him, to the Force, and to his future.

She was lost to him for over a decade and things remained basically the same. All until one night when Nestor had appeared up with a datapad and incredible news. Rey was back and so was their secret son. Naturally, she brought with her more change. Their troubled young son grown too Dark too soon has forced Kylo to reconsider the elusive dream of balance he had once given up. More and more, Kylo comes to value the Light. That's why he had dragged out the holochron secrets of the Jedi cult locked away for decades in his grandfather's castle. That's why he plans a series of meaningful political reforms. That's why he is pressing for his would-be Sith Apprentice to be the ultimate Chosen One. A year ago, it would all have been unthinkable. But now, it's his new agenda and it is all because of Rey.

This woman has one way or the other been a part of all of the major milestones of his adult life. The variable fortunes of their personal relationship always seem to be reflected in the larger scheme of events. Rey comes in and out of his life at different times and for different purposes, and fate changes as a result. Quite simply, Rey is his destiny. She is that unavoidable, uncontrollable, and unpredictable for him. The very embodiment of destiny itself.

At age thirty, the thought that this woman was his destiny was a romantic daydream like so many of Kylo's ambitious plans. He and Rey would slash hands in his temple and pledge forever and it would be Skywalkers happily ever after together in the Force. Now at age forty-five, life experience has turned out a bit differently. He never did get a pledge from his commitment-phobe Rey. The best he has is a lie that his lawyers put on paper which they consummated in her prison cell. Rey won't wear his ring, she won't take his name, and she barely tolerates the title Empress. She is more friend and colleague than wife. With Rey, he has a Force-strong son who is a Skywalker through and through. All the talent, all the angst, and all the requisite family drama. Kylo loves a boy who says that he hates him. He willingly trains an Apprentice who has already threatened to kill him. A child who is more comfortable calling him Master than father. This is everything Kylo has ever wanted to avoid in his personal life. This is the past that he had vowed time and again never to repeat. But this is his present and Kylo knows that he has himself in large part to blame.

And into this combustible mix enters Senator Cato Stegger. Just when everything is primed to fall apart. There is conspiracy afoot and it's the worst, most nefarious kind. It's the kind that resurrects the age-old struggle that is the antithesis of the balance Kylo seeks. And it's the kind that separates Skywalkers in dramatic betrayal and death. Husband versus wife. Father versus son. Light versus Dark. Jedi versus Sith. Tonight, he uncovers a plot that will plunge the galaxy into civil war and undo the progress of his fledgling Empire. And it's a plot that will mean that the Skywalker Siths gone before him, his beloved Snoke and his revered grandfather, will have died in vain.

Cato Stegger is far more dangerous than Kylo Ren had ever contemplated. That much is clear.

So what does it mean now for Rey to be his destiny? The pessimistic answer is that it means the Skywalkers will once again choose sides and everyone will end in defeat. But Kylo Ren is ever the ambitious optimist. You don't conquer the galaxy unless you dream big. And so, staring at the subdued woman at his side, Kylo thinks that this is yet another example of how Rey of Jakku brings him crises that become turning points. This is just her latest consequence as his personal harbinger of change. Stegger and his terrorist friends will not tear his family apart, they will bring them back together. When all is said and done, Kylo vows, his Empire and his family will be stronger for it. And Cato Stegger and his friends will be very, very dead.

And so, the Sith sits and quietly he plots.

Rey too is silent the rest of the ride home until they make it to her palace door. Rey talks first, as usual. "Stegger sort of ruined the night," she sighs and looks away.

It's true. Tonight's attempt to escape from the daily grind and to add more spontaneous fun to his life had only compounded his troubles and ended with Rey stressed and upset. So much for fun, Kylo thinks. But that's life for a Sith Emperor. No one said it would be easy, he remembers old Snoke telling him. Tonight, listening in as his enemy plotted his murder and kissed his estranged wife, had pretty much proved that point.

"We'll do it again soon," Kylo promises, trying to sound upbeat. "It will be more fun next time."

Rey nods. Is she lingering? He thinks she might be lingering. And there is so much Kylo wants to say right now, but one thing rises to the forefront. And it's probably something he should have told Rey long ago. But it had never occurred to him that it was an issue until tonight.

"Stegger is wrong about us. You know that, right?" Her confused look tells him she's not following. So, Kylo spells it out. "I love you. I love your Force too, I won't lie, but I love you. Rey, I loved you from Jakku. Before I knew you were a Palpatine. Before you had brought me the droid with the map and we had gone to bed. You and I were never about bolstering my claim to rule. We were more than just my call to the Light. I loved a scavenger girl in the desert with a big stick and a big smile. A girl with no past and no future."

"I know," she says simply. Then adds, "We're a long way from that now."

Are they? They don't have to be, he thinks. Rey is the girl he was supposed to kill but didn't. Twice. And then when he truly did try to kill her, he couldn't even manage it then. Kylo used to tell himself that was because the Force was with Rey, but maybe he has been wrong all along. Maybe it's that the Force is with them as a couple. Is he Rey's destiny in the same manner that she is his? He wonders.

"We're a long way from those days now," Rey repeats glumly as she opens her door.

"Yes and no," is his ambiguous reply. "Goodnight, Rey," Kylo tells her retreating form. Then, once again: "Thank you."


	38. Chapter 38

It is morning and Emperor Ren is not at his desk or in a meeting. He's doing something far more important today. He is safeguarding the future. When Kylo had announced at breakfast to Titus that he would be skipping school this morning, Rey hadn't raised even the slightest objection. Titus had instinctively glanced over at his mother for permission and Rey had nodded. Do what your father says, she instructed. He has a lot to teach you. Then Milo had beamed at all three of them like a proud grandfather, telling Titus that it was an important day when a Sith learns to use his sword. That prompted cheeky old Vanee to urge the boy to ask his mother for some pointers from the most recent Battle of Mustafar. The Empress knows a thing or two about a sword, Vanee reminded everyone with a wink over at Rey. Kylo had pretended not to hear.

And now, he stands stripped of his heavy cape, surcoat, and helmet in just his undertunic, pants and boots. Titus is in his school uniform. They are alone in his private training room adjacent to his personal suite. It is a cavernous room with weapons of all types mounted on the wall and a stockpile of modern day battle droids that suffice as opponents these days. It has been many long years since Darth Ren has had a training partner, so Kylo finds himself excited by the prospect. But still, he begins the training session the way old Darth Plagueis always did: with a history lecture.

"Historically, Sith trained as young men, not as boys," Kylo tells his son. "Only men sufficiently mature in mind and in body were deemed ready to commit to the rigors of Darkness. For Darkness is a choice and there is no going back. You either train and succeed, or you fail and die. Traditional Sith training," he assures his son, "is not for the faint of heart. It begins not with a sword, but with an oath. A Master would take his pupil to a Sith temple. There, they would separately genuflect on the commitment they each were undertaking. Afterwards, in the ritual chamber, the pupil would pledge loyalty to his Master and receive his first sword. Only then, would the new Apprentice begin his descent into Darkness."

Kylo looks over at the gangly not-quite teenager who haunts his library. Things have gone a bit out of order so far for this Apprentice. But Kylo isn't troubled by it. "Titus, we are no ordinary Sith and I am not teaching you traditional training. Not yet. There will be time for that later. And so, today I will not ask for your pledge. Instead, I am giving you mine." He looks the boy who Kylo now knows spent many long hours in communication with his terrorist sister squarely in the eye. "Titus, you are more than my Apprentice, you are my son. I will be loyal to you as I was to my own Master. Not just because we are Sith but because we are family. Blood matters to me, son. It is why I stole you and your mother back." He notes the hard set to the kid's jaw and sees that his words have hit a raw nerve. "One day, I hope you will understand better why I did that. I did it for you and for the galaxy." His kid looks plainly unconvinced.

"In time, you will share all of my knowledge and my power. But you already share my enemies. There are a great many of them, Titus. That's partly why we are here today. You earned that sword," Kylo gestures to the hilt that his son holds. "But you need it too. There are those who would harm you in order to hurt me. Others will seek to use you in order to influence me. Some may simply prefer to kill you in hopes that it will limit me." Kylo shoots the boy a penetrating look. "I think you know some of those people already." He's also pretty certain that taking away that comlink will not prevent his boy from contacting the Biggs girl again. The kid is resourceful when he is determined. And with Rey threatening to take away the comlink for so long, Kylo has no doubt that brother and sister had arranged some alternative means of communication. But that is not an issue he wants to confront head on.

Kylo continues: "To be Sith is to be marked for death. I was fifteen the first time someone tried to kill me. Kid, you're not going to make it that long. So you need to learn to use a sword and to use it well. It can save your life or someone else's. Maybe your mother's. Maybe mine."

The boy nods gravely and Kylo sees that he understands this at least.

Kylo now lights his own iconic crossguard sword. He twirls it effortlessly, enjoying its distinctive hum and buzz. There's nothing quite like the sound of a lightsaber. "A lightsaber is not an ordinary weapon," he counsels as he walks apart to test his weapon's heft in his hand with a few swings. "To use a sword has long been a mark of distinction. A sword intimidates. Just carrying one conjures up imagery from bygone days and long dead warriors." He extinguishes his sword and now turns back to his son. "This is a proud tradition. But it is not easily learned. Do not get discouraged. You are a naturally athletic boy and you are full of Force, but swordplay is harder than it looks."

Titus nods and swallows. "Okay."

"Good," Kylo approves. "Nestor will be along later this morning to teach you to shoot. Even without the Force, Flick is still the best there is so listen well. Until you master a sword, I want you wearing a sidearm to school. You will practice shooting with Nestor a few times a week."

The boy blinks. "Master, you want me to wear a blaster to school?" he confirms as if he might have misheard.

"Yes."

"I can't wear a blaster to school," Titus protests.

"Of course, you can. Kid, you can do anything I permit. Well . . . anything your mother permits too. But that's probably a subset of what I will allow. Your mother means well, but she tends to coddle." Darth Ren, of course, does not. Spare the rod and spoil the Sith, he thinks.

"O-Okay."

"Weapons are a way of life for a Sith. Like danger. So it's best to get used to it now," Kylo admonishes. "In days of old, the Sith kept their families secret to protect them. It's why marriages are done in secret and why historically there is little evidence of Sith wives and children. My Master himself broke with that tradition and the galaxy already knows that you are mine. The secret is out, so unless you want a security detail following you everywhere, you need to protect yourself." Kylo smiles encouragingly at the boy. "Empire Day probably helped. Since everyone has seen you snap necks with the Force, people will think twice before they fuck with you. But that won't deter everyone."

"I've been in fights before," the boy boasts as he lifts his chin.

"None of those opponents was trying to kill you. That's the difference," Kylo sets him straight. "Listen to your instincts. If you think you sense danger, then you are in danger. Remember that the Force never lies."

"Oh, good. I thought I was late." Rey now enters hurriedly to interrupt. She's been walking fast and she's breathless with roses in her cheeks.

"You are late," Kylo informs her. He's not angry. He's curious. "Did you speak with Stegger? How did it go?"

"He was pleased."

"Good. Let's hope his friends are too."

Rey now turns to their son. "Did I miss the lecture? There is always a long lecture."

"I don't know if he's done yet," the boys answers with a sigh. "But it sounded like he might be winding up."

"It's called teaching," Kylo complains with a glare for each of them. As usual, Rey walks in the room and the atmosphere changes. Usually, things get markedly more casual and a lot less Sith. Old Plagueis would not approve of this levity.

"Let me guess," Rey grins over at Titus. "He hasn't even had you turn it on yet, has he?"

"I was just getting to that part—" Kylo grumbles.

"Really?" Rey questions. "I'm twenty minutes late. That must have been some lecture."

At her prompting, Kylo stashes his own sword back at his belt and calls a training sword off the wall into his open palm. "Okay, let's do this. Light it up, kid." Kylo does the same.

Rey takes one look at him and bursts out laughing. It's loud, choking guffaws. "Blue? Blue, Kylo?" She crosses her arms over her chest and grins ear to ear at him. "Wow, I'm getting flashbacks of what Jedi Ben Solo must have looked like."

Kylo shoots her a withering glance. She's ruining his Sith lord gravitas again. Trust it to Rey to arrive on the scene and throw him off his stride. "It's just a color," he informs her defensively. "I have lots of swords but not many training swords. Just my old one that I gave Titus and a few that Vader took from padawans he killed in the Purge. Jedi training swords were for children ten and under and so they don't typically adjust for someone over six feet. This blue one is the longest blade I could find."

"So that was from a dead Jedi kid?" Titus asks, looking a little fascinated and somewhat repulsed. "Vader killed Jedi kids?"

"Yep," Rey answers matter of fact. "Kylo, yours must have been a wookiee Jedi kid."

"Younglings," Kylo corrects. "Vader killed younglings. Use the correct terminology. The Jedi called their youngest padawans younglings." Then, it's time for another teaching moment. "Sword length matters," Kylo tells Titus as the boy tests out a few swings. "Too long a sword and you will hurt yourself. Too short and you're at a disadvantage in a fight."

"Spoken like a man," Rey observes dryly. "With men, size always matters."

"Mom—"

"This blade is still too short." Kylo looks pointedly over at Rey and adds, "For a number of reasons. But it will have to do for now." He walks over to his son. "Hold the sword off and to your side and swing back," he demonstrates. "The blade should clear the ground with some room to spare. This one is too long," Kylo takes the boy's weapon and makes a minor adjustment. "That's better. I was fifteen when I used this, so I had a few years and a few inches on you, kid. But we can continue to adjust it as you grow. Ultimately, you will make your own weapon customized to you in every way."

"Really? Cool."

Kylo reaches for Titus' left hand now and turns it palm up. "A training blade stings and bruises, nothing more. Feel it so you will understand." Then Kylo bounces his blue sword off the skin.

"Oww!" Titus snatches his hand back. "That hurts!"

Kylo fights the urge to roll his eyes at this wimpiness. "Get used to it, kid. You're going to feel that a lot." Kylo turns to Rey. "Heal him, Jedi," he orders gruffly, reclaiming his awesomely badass Sith Master persona in this moment. He's determined to do old Plagueis proud. This training thing is going to be fun, Kylo thinks. And Milo is right. Today is kind of a big deal. This is his son following in his footsteps and even holding his old practice sword. A Skywalker Sith father and son on the same side at long last. Snoke would love this, he knows. It's too bad the old Muun isn't here now.

Rey, of course, is at their son's side in a second, summoning the Force to erase in an instant the red welt that has arisen on his palm. Rey is happy to heal, Kylo knows, especially since it gives their son a little jolt of Light. Kylo, too, receives the reflected, momentary glory. Rey must sense this, for she finds his eyes. Kylo flushes. He knows she caught the look of longing that he could not hide. It has been a long time since that night she healed his arm. Longer still since their tryst in the cell.

"A real sword would have lopped off your hand," Kylo says bluntly. He doesn't miss Rey's involuntary shudder in response. And now, it's her turn to feel uncomfortable. Kylo finds her eyes and smiles a little to remind her of his forgiveness. They are past that now. "Swords are not toys," he admonishes his reckless son. "Swords are deadly weapons only suited for someone properly trained. And that means just us. Only the three of us in this room can use a sword." Kylo calls to his open left palm another training weapon. Then he tosses it to Rey. "Catch."

Rey complies but makes a face and offers the weapon back. "I don't want this."

"It's a training sword, like ours. You've used one before," he reminds her.

"I don't want this." Rey looks away. "I told you last night that I didn't want this. A blaster will do."

As always, Rey is the fighter who doesn't like to fight. "It won't hurt you," he tells her softly, guessing the reason for her reluctance.

Her eyes flash up at him. "It's not me I'm worried about," she snaps back. It's classic Rey of Jakku bravado.

"Oh, so you think you can land a blow again?" He raises an eyebrow. "Well, let's see you try," he goads.

"Can't we do forms?" Rey suggests. "I'm happy to teach Titus his lightsaber forms. I'm here to do forms. Er . . . if I can remember them . . . "

Kylo doesn't bother to continue this debate. Instead, he leaps at Rey in a sudden lunge.

"Whoa!" Rey automatically ignites and parries. These are classic attack and defense moves. Basic skills he taught her years ago.

Kylo grins and comes at her now from the left with a counterattack riposte. She blocks it fast but then holds her weapon down and to the side. "Kylo, what are you—" Rey stops talking as he comes at her again to engage.

"You are unwise to lower your defenses," he says in his most Sith-y tone. But he can't hold that level of seriousness too long. Because this is too fun. "Come on, Rey. Bring it. Let's see what you remember. Spar a bit with me and show the kid how it's done."

Rey feints left and skitters out of range to once again disengage. "I'm very out of shape," she starts making excuses. He just nods and twirls his sword. First a lateral spin, then an infinity spin. And now Rey has one hand on her hip as she tells him plainly, "Oh, stop showing off."

"Make me."

Titus is looking from one parent to the other with an excited look on his face. "Come on, Mom. Let me see. I never knew you could use a sword."

As usual, Kylo himself can't convince Rey of anything, but she caves immediately to their kid. Rey now extinguishes her weapon. She drops the hilt to the ground atop her purse. Then she starts yanking off her tall heeled boots. Next her jacket slips off and then the fancy semi-sheer silk blouse beneath. There is nothing sexy about this strip tease, it's purely functional. Rey is down to her casual culottes and a tanktop as she reaches up to twist back her flowing hair. Apparently, she can still do her old trio of hair buns without looking. Then she calls the training sword back to her hand to ignite. All in all, it's one minute from Upper Level mom-on-the-go to desert Jedi girl ready to rumble.

Kylo loves it. Yes, she's still the same Rey underneath it all.

"Well, hello, scavenger," he drawls. He's grinning ear to ear. Rey takes that opportunity to attack. It's like she wants to wipe the smile off his face with her sword.

And now, they go at it. Rey is fast and rough, like he remembers, with shoddy foot work that is more a scramble than the intricate dance of the fight that Snoke had taught. Snoke had been big into footwork. Luke Skywalker, not so much. His old Jedi Master had prized a controlled, accurate swing. Rey, of course, has none of this refinement. She hasn't had much time to learn. But in swordplay, as in everything, Rey is a quick study and she's effective even if it's not pretty.

"Tag, you're it!" he crows as he drags a glancing blow across her upper left arm.

Rey is tough and she doesn't miss a beat. It's Titus who cries out "Mom!" at the red welt that immediately erupts on her skin.

Rey pays it no need and answers back with a swipe that Kylo has to leap high to avoid. But before he hits the ground, she pushes him back hard with the Force to land on the floor in a sprawl.

"Mom, are you okay?" Of course, Titus doesn't worry about him lying flat on his back.

"I'm fine," Rey answers with a determined tone. "I'll be even better once I skewer your father."

But Kylo is up on his feet and lunging fast. Again, he tags Rey on that same arm. "You need to protect on the left, Rey," he complains. "It's far too easy to get in."

"I told you I was out of practice," she snaps back through gritted teeth. Then, she feints twice and throws him again with the Force. This time he hits the wall semi-hard but lands on his feet.

"Wow, Mom, you fight dirty," Titus is impressed.

"I fight to win," she answers. "I'm from Jakku."

"I love that about you," Kylo is still grinning. Then he turns to his son as he walks forward to reengage. "Take a lesson there, kid. There are no rules for lightsaber battles. Snoke used to say that the only rule was to win. It didn't have to look good. You can Force-push, you can Force-freeze, you can Force-choke, you can shoot lightning, whatever. The only thing Snoke cautioned against was throwing a lot of stuff around. You start tossing machinery and bodies around and it becomes debris that you yourself could trip over."

"B-Bodies?" the boy gulps. And it's a strange reaction from a kid who ruthlessly snapped necks on Empire Day. But it's typical, Kylo knows. His son is still very young and innocent despite all his burgeoning Darkness within. It's partly why the kid is so confused.

"Yes, bodies," Kylo confirms. "In a battle, there are bodies." And now again, he nearly tags Rey. She's still fast, but tiring quickly and all the chatter is distracting her.

Rey now tries to downplay things to their son. "Titus, you're not going into battle. You're probably going to use a sword mostly to deflect blaster fire." She turns back to Kylo, "We need to teach him to freeze blaster bolts soon."

"Yes," he agrees.

"And people. He needs to be able to freeze people."

"Yes."

"Good," Rey approves as she dodges his latest attack. "Titus, I want you to learn to master a blaster and a sword. Then, you will keep both on you at all times."

"Both?" the boy parrots. "But he said—"

"Both," Rey overrides. "You need to be armed for your own safety. I was always armed on Jakku. And pretty much anywhere in the galaxy is dangerous to you now like Jakku."

This attitude clearly surprises and confuses the boy. "But Mom, you always say that violence is never the answer."

Rey doesn't miss a beat as her words are thrown in her face. She disengages and now speaks emphatically to their son. "Titus, this is different. This is self-defense. You always have the right to defend yourself against threats."

"Okay."

Kylo decides that it is time for him to weigh in. He likes how in this, at least, he and Rey are on the same page. "Kid, violence is a tool. It is best used sparingly. But you should use it, all the same." Rey shoots him a look and he reacts. "What? I do not hold with gratuitous violence, Rey, you know that." He's back to instructing his son. "We Sith are not sadists. We are architects of the future. You must always have a reason for your actions, Titus. So don't come to me with a tale that you killed some teacher at school if you don't have a reason."

"Kylo!" Rey is outraged.

He ignores her. "You kill someone and you're gonna need a good reason. Every day can't be Empire Day just because you're pissed-"

"There will be no killing of anyone at school!" Rey decrees. Then for good measure she scowls at them both. "This training is for self-defense, Titus. Not for aggression." Kylo decides to let this last bit slide. Because aggressive is part of being a Sith. But then, as if to belie her own words, Rey launches a new volley of attacks. She's breathing hard now. "I am so out of shape. This is killing me, Kylo. I am going to be sore for days after this."

"And here I thought that you had mastered stormtrooper training." He takes a swipe at her leg but misses. His damn sword is too short.

"That was years ago," Rey pants. "And before I spent months confined to a cell. I did look it up on the holonet, though. There's a gym that does stormtrooper training in the Mid Level. I talked Cesi into going."

Kylo smirks. "I am shocked."

"What? Cesi works out a lot."

"I'm not surprised she works out. I'm surprised that she agreed to go to the Mid Level. Does she even know how to get there?" Kylo wonders aloud.

Rey laughs. "Probably not." Then she lunges.

It's a bad move. "You left yourself open on the left again." Kylo easily hooks her blade and wrenches it from her hand to fly across the room. He's always been good at disarming tricks. Kylo reclaims her sword with the Force. It neatly drops into his open left palm to ignite. "And . . . there," he tells defenseless Rey who is cornered with two lit sabers at her throat. "I win." He deactivates and taps his lips. "Now plant one on me, babe. To the victor go the spoils."

She blinks. "Oh, yeah . . . I forgot. Wait-I never agreed we would do that again—"

"Do what?" Titus asks.

"Winner gets a kiss," Kylo reminds Rey. "That's how we always did it. You can't change that now, Rey. Pucker up."

"Oh, alright." She marches over to peck at his cheek as he leans down. It's more like a perfunctory social greeting than a kiss, but it's more action than he's gotten in a while so Kylo won't complain.

Titus is frowning. "So wait—the winner gets a kiss, but you are always kissing each other because one of you is always the winner. Uhm . . . how is that a prize if you get it anyway?"

Rey suddenly looks embarrassed and red faced beyond her exertion. Probably because she is remembering that the winner's kiss had a tendency to escalate back in the day. And then he and Rey would be hot and sweaty from more than just the fight. She looks away and brushes back a loose strand of hair as she stammers, "Uhm . . . well . . . we were a lot younger back then and in love . . . And when two people love each other . . . uh . . . and they are married, then well . . . "

Kylo jumps in to save her by announcing, "Kid, either way, I won. That's the punchline."

"So what do I get when I win?" the boy asks.

Kylo laughs. "It will be a long time before you win, kid. But we'll think of something. Okay, now that us old folks are warmed up, let's start with the basics." Kylo positions Rey on Titus's left and he's on the boy's right. "This is a lunge," he demonstrates. "Stab and lunge. See your mother? Keep your other arm back for a counterbalance. Weight to your bent knee. Shoulders and eyes forward."

Yes, this will be fun, Kylo thinks as he glances over at his wife and son both brandishing a sword next to him in matching poses. Is he the latest in a long line of Sith Masters to train his own assassin? Or will the family that trains together, stay together? Kylo catches a rare smile on his boy's face now and he hopes for the best. However this turns out, Kylo thinks, at least he will have done his duty. He will have passed on what he has learned. Titus Ren will inherit all his father's knowledge learned from the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and the Sith Master Darth Plagueis. His boy will have both his father's Sith library and his great-grandfather's Jedi holochrons. And so, if anyone is primed to be the Chosen One who will balance the Force, it will be Titus.

That evening at dinner, it's just himself and Titus. Rey is at some official dinner on the other side of the palace. She doesn't do this very often. Rey might agree to attend a cocktail reception once a week, but rarely does she miss dinner with Titus. As Kylo has learned more about how Rey ran the Biggs family home, he has come to realize how important these rituals of daily life are to her. But tonight, her unusual absence gives he and his son a chance to talk.

As usual, they speak of the Force. Today's topic is lightsaber battles. They speak of which Sith were the best swordsmen and which sword types and fighting styles they used. Who they fought and how they died. Kylo tells Titus of how he fought his uncle three times. The first two times as a boy and the last time as a man. My Master died saving me from my uncle, he tells his son. Darth Plagueis sacrificed for me like Darth Vader sacrificed to save his son. One day, I may be called to do the same for you, he tells Titus. The boy looks away. But Kylo does not relent. You will sit where I am one day, he says plainly. The Force is strong in our family. Eventually, it will fall to you to pass on what you have learned. If nothing else, Kylo wants to instill in his son a respect for what it means to be a Skywalker.

It will be an uphill battle. "I didn't ask for any of this," his son whines.

"Neither did I. Or your mother, for that matter. But you, like she and I, are called to greatness." Kylo shoots the surly boy a reproachful look. "Most men live lead lives of quiet desperation. Someday you will come to understand how lucky you are that you do not."

Titus is unimpressed. "I just want to be a normal kid with a normal family."

"That's your mother talking," Kylo chides him. "Your mother gets a pass on wanting to be normal. You saw how she grew up. But you do not, Titus. So, stop whining." Pampered rich kid Titus Biggs has never really lived a normal life, he just thinks he did. Normal people don't have wealthy, influential CEOs as foster fathers who arrange and pay for everything. Normal people don't have multiple homes and unlimited budgets and fancy lives. Kylo knows that most of his subjects aren't the Coruscant elite. They are the ordinary people of the Mid Rim who work hard and pay taxes and still can't save much. Or they are settlers or natives of the Rim worlds where life tends to be nasty, brutish and short. As far as Kylo is concerned, his kid has nothing to complain about.

But Kylo is looking to decrease the conflict, not to prolong it. So, he changes the topic now. "Nestor said you two had fun shooting."

"That's right. I like the Chancellor," Titus announces with a glare that firmly conveys that he does not like his father.

Kylo ignores this like he ignores most of Titus' outbursts. "I thought my old man was a good shot until I met Nestor," Kylo shares. "We had another Knight who came close, but no one was better Nestor. That guy has an eagle eye still at this age. He saved me in battle more times than I like to admit," Kylo concedes. "And more times than Nestor will take credit for," he adds.

"It must be nice to have friends," his son complains, his sarcasm thick. "I wouldn't know."

Kylo just shrugs. "We are Sith. We don't tend to be Mr. Popular."

"At least, I used to have two sisters," Titus reminds him. Then the kid stands and stomps off in a huff. Kylo lets him go.

And now, he is back to being alone. Rey is the key, Kylo sees, to keeping the peace between him and Titus. She's like the dampening rod in a reactor, staving off the explosion that might otherwise result. For other than the Force and the Sith, he and his son seem to have no interests in common and no natural rapport. Kylo can't decide if that is because father and son are two very different people or whether they are far too alike to get along. Or maybe it's because Titus is still pouting about all the dramatic changes in his life. Either way, Rey's presence is necessary. That's fitting, Kylo realizes. Rey has always tried to be the peacemaker, even back during the war. Now he needs her to keep the peace in his Empire and to keep the peace in his home. And, actually, the latter might be the more formidable task.

He's not hungry anymore, so he wanders to his private office for a drink and some time to brood. This was his habit in his years before Rey's return. He would gobble his dinner alone—on rare occasions, maybe with Nestor, or his current girl, or perhaps with Milo and Vanee—and then he would retire to his office. Kylo would spend hours here with the lights dimmed looking out on his newly rebuilt capital world. Thinking of everything and nothing.

In the darkened room, there is only one source of light and that is the Sith holochron his Master left for him. Kylo doesn't trust it yet to his son in his library so he keeps it here. His boy still thinks that the Force is a lot of neat tricks that amuse and amaze. At twelve, young Titus doesn't understand all the ramifications of what he is learning. But at forty-five, Kylo does.

He calls the glowing red pyramid holochron to himself with the Force, turning it over lovingly in his hands. Of every possession he has of his late Master, this is his most cherished. This little trinket contains old Plagueis' most storied achievement in the Force—immortality. Embedded within are the secrets to life itself. How to create life, how to sustain life, how to revive and renew life. All through the awesome power of the Force. When he is particularly lonely, Kylo likes to open the holochron just to see and hear his beloved Master again.

The ugly old Muun had begun his holochron the way all holochrons begin-with a recitation. _I am Sith Master Darth Plagueis the Wise, Apprentice to Tenebrous, and Master to Sidious and to Ren._ The crafty, venerable old Sith had loved the Force first, but he loved his family second. And where the Skywalkers are concerned, the line between the Force and family continually blurs. And so, Darth Plagueis had identified himself next by his relation to the first family of the Force. _I am father to Vader, grandfather to the Jedi Master Skywalker, and great-grandfather to Ren._ And then, his old Master did something unprecedented for a Sith holochron. He referenced his wife. _I was husband to Jedi Shan Damask, Archivist of the Temple Naboo._ Kylo has always considered this statement to be a sentimental gesture by a bereft husband who revered his late wife. So much so, that his Master kept her body for a century in hopes she might one day be revived.

But lately, Kylo has begun to wonder about his Master's Jedi wife. He knows the Muun credited her with much of his radical understanding of the Force. While Lady Plagueis lived the last ten years of her life stripped of her Force sensitivity, she still had all the knowledge and experience from her prior years. And that perspective, combined with Snoke's mastery of Darkness, had contributed much to the Sith's study of the Force. Lady Plagueis was a helpmate in Snoke's life and in his work, and she was mother to his only biological child. A woman stolen from her life at a Jedi temple to be the unwilling bride to a Sith. The parallels to he and Rey are obvious now for Kylo to see. And that's just one more reason why he wishes his Master would around to guide him. He could use some Sith marital advice.

At one point, Kylo had assumed that he and Rey would share the secrets of Snoke's holochron. That they would live forever together in the Force. Immortal in the sense that they would be imperious to the passage of time, but mortal still in that they could be killed. Kylo had set aside that idea when Rey had died to him. He never once has been tempted since. Mostly because life everlasting seems so bleak when lived alone. And so, for many years Kylo has focused on the galaxy's future and not his own. But with Nestor's discovery of his hidden family, there is reason anew to think of his personal future. Rey is alive as his Empress and he has a Force-strong son. And lately, that has Kylo thinking again about the possibility of forever.

A knock interrupts his thoughts. It's Rey standing on the threshold. "Vanee said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Come in." Kylo puts down the holochron and waves her in.

Rey sweeps into his private office in her full Empress regalia. She has adopted the white gown she wore for her public debut the evening of Empire Day as a uniform for formal events. Her hair and makeup stylings change and Rey no longer sports borrowed jewelry, but the dress is always the same when she appears. Long, stark white, modest and sleek with a regal cape. It's a good look for her, he thinks. Very elegant and feminine. Plus, he likes the consistency in image that matches his own. Rey is the Light in white and he is the Dark in black, and there is something eternal about that contrast and appropriate about their pairing.

Rey's eyes find the holochron on his desk. "Is that the one from the lady in the temple?" she asks. She remembers.

"Yes, it is." Kylo smiles at her approach. "How was the dinner?"

Rey shrugs. "I smiled, I shook a lot of hands, and I listened to a speech about the importance of non-human diversity. It was nice, but it was boring. No one approached me for treason all night long," she jokes. Rey gives him a sheepish smile. "You know, except for the scary assassination plots, this Empress job isn't so bad. I think I'm getting used to it."

"You're getting good at it," he compliments her. He means it. "This is for you," Kylo digs in his pocket for a datafile. He hands it to Rey.

"Draft education legislation?" she guesses.

"No. It's a screenshot of everything on my datapad yesterday."

Rey is clearly not expecting that answer. "What for?"

"To leak to Stegger sometime in the next few days. I want you to gain his trust, Rey. Make up some story for how you got it. You don't know if there is anything useful here, but you had the opportunity and you wanted to help the cause. Stegger's friends are going to question your motives, so I want you to appear to be an enthusiastic supporter of the revolution. For now, you're going to pretend to move forward with his plot."

"What's really on this datafile?" Rey asks.

"A highly edited version of my actual datapad. It contains lots of misleading information we can use to track where Stegger's information flow goes. The Resistance will be all over this once they see my pretend plans for Starkiller 2.0. I think the only undoctored stuff here is probably my podracing brackets. Even the pictures of you are tweaked." Kylo can't help but smile. He's sort of gleeful over this fakery. This is very juicy bait.

"Pictures of me?" Rey raises an eyebrow. "What pictures?"

"They are mostly from that first day you arrived," he explains. "We had to fix the hair color so you're not blonde. There are also some security cam snaps of you looking bored in your cell."

"Why?" She's not following.

"Because a guy always has pictures of his girl on his datapad. The point is to remind my enemies of your motivation. You are my long-suffering prisoner wife who can't wait to murder her tyrant husband. When the Resistance sees these, they'll understand why." Kylo leans in now to chuckle. "Stegger will love them, Rey. It will fit your victim narrative perfectly. There's even a version of the Empire Day video with you screaming for freedom and calling me names. That will be his new porn," Kylo predicts. "Stegger will be jerking off to that one for sure."

"Ewwww! Kylo-" she complains, shooting him a repulsed look. "That's so gross."

"You were the one who kissed him, got him worked up, and ran out," he accuses. "There you were, fleeing like some tragic, doomed Cinderella," Kylo smirks. "I'll admit that I didn't like it at the time, but now it has some dramatic appeal. You're a Sith's lady out to protect your own. Rey, I know you don't give a damn about the First Order and I know you aren't committed to these Resistance terrorists either. You're out to protect Titus."

She nods.

His face softens and so does his voice. "I actually prefer that you be loyal to our family before any cause."

Rey grunts and gives him a sideways glance. "Long live the Skywalkers," she says dryly.

"Exactly," he approves.

Rey now puts a hand on each hip as she vents, "I'm not even really married to you and yet, for better or for worse, your fortunes are my own. It's the same for Titus now," she complains. "I'll have to depose you for real in order to get my fake divorce."

"Are you thinking of leaving me again?" It's a serious question.

She gives it a serious answer. "No. Titus needs you in ways I can't help him. I see that now. Just think what trouble he would get into with the Force without you around to guide him." Yes, Kylo can only imagine. And he's glad that she sees their boy needs a firm hand. Rey now gives an ironic half-smile and throws up her hands. "So here I am, stuck playing at being Mrs. Sith."

"We are married," he corrects her. "We are legally married under every law of my Empire." Or so his lawyers tell him.

But Rey disagrees. "We are not married. Not in a way that matters. Not in a way that I consented to."

Does that matter? It must. So, Kylo cocks his head at her and thinks a moment before he decides, "I'll take you to my temple any day, Rey. Just say when."

"No, thanks," she automatically shoots him down. Rey is good at rejection. "I ran away from forever with a Sith, remember? But I seem to have ended up with it all the same," she mutters.

Her peevish consternation makes him chuckle. He's enjoying her dismay. "Destiny is a bitch, Rey. But think it over. It's a standing offer. I'll make an honest woman of you and scratch your hand." Is she interested? He can't tell. He can never tell with Rey. His instincts with this woman have historically been spectacularly wrong.

She wanders over next to him by the window. Now they are looking out at the cityscape together, standing side by side. He sneaks a glance at her profile. Her hair is pulled back from her face but worn mostly down tonight, spilling over her shoulders. With her slashing brows and high cheekbones, it is a regal look. She's every inch an Empress tonight.

"You don't have to wear my ring, you just have to wear my scar, Rey," he bargains. "The ring is optional. I know you hate it."

She doesn't dispute the point. "I showed it to Cesi," Rey reveals. "She actually thought it was amazing."

"Lady Flick has very good taste," he says somewhat bitterly. And this is a stupid conversation. They both know that it's not the ring that Rey is rejecting.

And now she stops dancing around the point and speaks plainly of them. Rey is in a reflective mood at the end of the day, it seems. "You know, for years, I obsessed over what would happen if you found me. I knew you would be angry. I expected you to take Titus. But none of this is turning out like I thought it would." Rey thinks a moment and then amends, "Well, initially it did. But not now. I didn't expect now."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Kylo likes how they can speak easily with each other now. Rey has always been direct. Painfully blunt, at times. But it's honest. Whether she's calling him names or setting him straight or they are just talking after a long day, Rey is genuine. He values that now as Emperor in a way he hadn't as much during the war years.

"You are pushing for reforms and pushing Titus to learn the Light. Wanting to move your Empire and the Sith to be less Dark. You never cared much about balancing the Force before. All you cared about was your war."

Kylo nods. "The war changed me." You changed me, he wants to say but he bites his tongue.

"I see that you were growing Darker when I left you," she muses. "And you are growing Lighter now. Less impulsive, more patient. Less violent, more crafty. It's . . . different."

She's right. "The Force is a continuum from Light to Dark and everything in between," he reminds her. "It's normal for people to gravitate one direction or another over time, just like the universe can skew from Light to Dark in cycles."

"I remember old Snoke teaching me that," Rey says softly at this side. "He had such radical ideas. I didn't really appreciate it back then."

"There is truth in his ideas. Rey, I think the Light and the Dark tend to be exaggerated in the Chosen Ones," he confesses. "We Skywalkers flit from extreme to extreme. I had more Light in me when I was a kid."

"Not when I knew you," she sounds almost wistful now. "I loved the Light in you. Kylo, there just wasn't enough."

He hates how Rey always speaks of their happiness in past tense. Like it's a chapter in their lives that is closed forever and would mean nothing now if it weren't for the child they share. It's so . . . final. "I'm growing Lighter these days," he says hopefully. "Maybe someday I'll be lovable again, Rey."

That provokes her to meet his eye. "Oh, Kylo," she sighs. "You are lovable now."

"Yeah?" he smirks. "That's good news. Now, if I could just find a woman to love me."

Rey looks away and instantly he wishes he could take those words back. He always says too much. He knows not to go there, but he always does.

"This friend thing is good," she announces and it's another one of her little rejections. "It's working okay. Don't you think?" Rey looks to him for confirmation.

Yep, he wishes he could take those words back. But he can't, so he goes too far again. "I should never have put you in that cell. This is about the cell, isn't it?" She's punishing him for the cell.

"Yeah. A little," she admits.

"What else?"

"For trying to kill me."

He nods.

She makes a face. "I guess you got even for your hand and for Cade. Sith love their revenge . . . "

It's true. She knows him well. Kylo is silent a moment before he starts explaining. "You know, when Bane started the Rule of Two it was because the Sith had become mired in destruction. Darth Bane wanted a path forward that would preserve the best of the Sith tradition and focus on the future. I had that in mind for us. That we could align our common interests and, in time, move past our personal conflicts. For Titus." Kylo looks her over and gamely decides, "I'm glad that this friend thing is working for you. I hoped it would."

"Is it working for you?" She asks the hard question.

He hesitates. "I can live with this. This is so much better than before."

Rey seems to appreciate now how miserable his existence has been. "I hate to think of you here alone all those years," she fesses up. "I guess I understand why you had all those girls."

"There are no more girls, Rey."

She nods and there is an awkward silence. Then, she changes the topic. She gestures to the right glove he keeps flexing. "That hand is hurting again. I see you favoring it. Do you want me to heal it?"

"It's sore from the sword today," he explains. "It's usually sore later on during the days that I train. Thanks," he rebuffs her offer, "but it will be better tomorrow. It always is."

"Are you sure you don't want me to heal it?" she persists. And it's not that he won't welcome her skills, but that he fears the consequences.

"Rey," he turns to face her. "I have to be careful about healing. Too much Light and I might . . . " He falters, unwilling to voice his concerns aloud that he might lose control again and pressure her into sex. And then she will be angry and reject him afterwards. Much as he would love to bed Rey again-and properly this time-he won't go there. There is no such thing as casual sex between them.

"Okay," Rey accepts his refusal, but then ventures, "But are you sure that the problem is too much Light? Maybe it's not enough."

Again, he warns, "Rey, you remember what happened that night-"

"Yes."

They have never really spoken of that night in the cell.

"I don't want to repeat that night." He can't take another repeat of that night.

"Have you ever wondered if maybe more Light, more often, is the answer?" she posits. "It might keep you from craving it so much."

"I had that once," Kylo gripes, thinking of their original days together. "Looking back, I think that you saved me from getting too Dark as the war came to a close. If you hadn't been there, Rey, I wonder how Dark I might have become."

"But you are called to the Light again now, right?" she asks.

"Yes."

"Then answer the call," she urges. "Let me help you. I'll take the risk."

It's a lovely offer. A tempting offer. But he wishes she would drop this subject. This is going from stilted and awkward to downright uncomfortable. "It's not just the Force, it's you too," he confesses. It's the intimacy of her hands on him and of his mind in hers. It too balms his lonely soul and makes him want more.

"I don't want to ruin this," he warns as she takes his right hand in hers now. He watches passively as she reaches up his sleeve to firmly tug down at the wrist of his glove.

"Rey—"

"I'll take the risk," she repeats as she rolls down his glove to reveal the prosthetic beneath. "Since you are training Titus, this is only going to hurt more. Let me help."

"Rey—"

"I am responsible for this," she whispers hoarsely. "At least let me make it better for tonight, since I cannot make it up to you." Rey looks down and stammers unhappily, "I can heal the pain in people's bodies now with the Force, but I can't heal their other pain. I wish I could . . . "

And it's all Kylo can do now to keep from begging her to heal his body with the Force and heal his heart with her love. That if they can just go back to the way things were before, then he will forgive her everything and they can start fresh again. But he's no fool. There is no such thing as a blank slate and bygones are never truly bygones. Where he and Rey are concerned, there's no such thing as water under the bridge.

When he doesn't immediately renew his objection, Rey starts to heal. She summons the Force effortlessly now. All her afternoons sneaking away to the children's hospital are beginning to show. Her healing is more confident and effective, he observes. And it seems to require less exertion from Rey, too. But the response of his mind is the same as always: pure pleasure. Her healing Light is refreshing like an unexpected cool breeze on a hot day. It is soothing like a heartfelt mother's hug. It is life affirming, soul renewing, and utterly sincere. How foolish were all those Sith Masters writing his library tomes who scorned the strength of the Light. His son spends hours reading their much-repeated lie that Darkness is supreme. But Kylo Ren knows better. For how can Darkness rule if it is so easily humbled by the Light?

There are a myriad of ways to be strong in life. Dark dominance, violence, and resolve are only a few examples. Maturity has taught him that there is strength in the fortitude required for patience, in the empathy needed for compassion, and in the virtue needed for justice. It is all of these traits as a whole that bind the universe together. And somewhere in that mix of ideals lies the balance of the Force. As a young man, it's true that Kylo Ren took the quick and easy path into Darkness. But over time, he has come to value the road not taken into the Light. His younger self-like his son today-quite simply did not know the power of the Light Side. And so, at thirty he fell in love and wallowed nightly in the forbidden joy of the Light. But at forty-five, he values its meaning beyond just passion. He sees now its worth in the larger scheme as well as to himself. Rey is so much more now than just the lover she was back then. She is an Empress, a mother to his son, a custodian of a lost Force tradition, and a confidante of sorts. All this, and she is his co-conspirator to uncover treason and his sidekick to binge watch on random weekday nights. Their life together is far more complex and problematic now, but in some ways more meaningful too.

He should be content with this, Kylo tells himself.

But he pulls Rey closer to him with his left hand and they stand in something akin to an embrace. She leans closer as her hands clutch at the prosthetic held close to his chest. It's not long before her head lays against him as she concentrates. And then somehow it feels natural for his free hand to stroke her hair. It is intimate, but still chaste. Kylo is determined to keep it that way. He can smell her faint floral perfume wafting up. It reminds him of the girl who looked forward to the rain that caused the desert to bloom. He had been crazy for that girl long ago.

"You can come into me," she lifts her head to whisper. In the moment, it is like a siren's call. He blinks a moment, wondering if he has imagined this invitation. But then she repeats: "Come into my mind if you want to feel it firsthand."

"I shouldn't," he hesitates, remembering full well the potent rush that had occurred that night he had summoned the Light. It had been a precursor to what had happened later in the cell. "I shouldn't . . . " But, of course, he does. He jumps into Rey's mind and throws his own headlong into her Light.

"Ahhhh . . . " Kylo can't stifle his immediate reaction. He is trembling now as he clasps Rey to his chest. Awed and prostrate before her healing Light. Oddly enough, it is a familiar mental feel, not unlike the Dark rush of Force lightning. But maybe it's just that the Force at its most extreme potencies is the same. Here, the Force is the Force, as old Plagueis was known to say.

"That's e-enough," he pulls back first in mind and then in body. He has to pace himself, he reasons, lest he lose control. More than a brief taste and he will be undone.

Instantly, Rey understands and ceases. "Are you okay?" She looks him over warily almost as if he were some bomb about to explode.

"Y-Yes, I think so," he breathes aloud. It takes him a moment to regain composure. Then, he decides, "Yes, I'm fine. That was good. But you need to go." He won't tempt himself any longer. They should go their separate ways now.

"Here." Rey bends to retrieve his fallen glove from the floor. "Goodnight," she bids him as she hands it back. She makes to walk away and it's good, right? This is how he wanted things to go. They are friends with Force benefits and nothing more. Except he's lying to himself and he knows it. So, he tugs her back.

Rey is confused. "Kylo—" she begins.

But he cuts her off as he gathers her back into his arms. His hands shift to her cheeks to raise her face to his. His uncovered prosthetic lies against her bare skin. There's no point in being self-conscious about it now that she has healed it twice. It's one more way that he can be his complete self around this woman—warts, mechanical hand, and all.

"Kiss me," he whispers. "Kiss me like you kissed Cato Stegger last night."

"That's not a good-"

"Just one kiss. Nothing more. I promise." She still owes him his winner's kiss from this morning. That peck on the cheek didn't count. His forehead is bent to touch hers and his breath is on her cheek. "Give me what you gave the traitor," he begs. He doesn't wait for her reply. His lips are on hers for a thorough kiss.

Oh, Gods, this is what he needs. Is Rey remembering the past with him now like she had in Stegger's arms? Under all that anger, does she miss them too? Kylo has made it his life's work to reclaim the past in order to make a better future. For the galaxy, that meant a New Empire fashioned in the style of his grandfather's original. For himself, maybe that means a second chance with Rey. But just who is he kidding? Winning back Rey is a risky, high stakes endeavor that Kylo knows better than to undertake. She is a mistake that he keeps making. A habit he cannot quit. So abruptly, he pulls back. Rey's lips are hungry still, he sees. They are both left wanting. Yes, he had stopped just in the nick of time before he would have seduced her and bent her over his desk.

She looks flustered. More confused than angry.

He feels frustrated with it all. He's not a man used to limitations. Certainly not ones self-imposed. He typically gets what he wants. Just not with Rey.

"I'm not good at friends," he rasps out the unhappy truth. He's staring down into her eyes. "I'm trying, Rey, but I'm not. And this was my idea, I know-"

"Kylo, this is my fault—"

"I think you need to go."


	39. Chapter 39

"I don't like this," Rey complains as she pulls the speeder up to Senator Stegger's apartment. At least this time she's not dressed quite so scantily. Hopefully, that means Stegger will keep his hands to himself.

"Do you sense danger?" Kylo gives her a serious look. "I don't sense any danger."

"You're not the one he'll be making a pass at," she grumbles.

"That's not danger." Kylo now seems very nonplussed about the whole idea of Cato Stegger hitting on her, and that's a big change from last time. And, honestly, Rey is a little miffed. He's treating this evening's meeting like it's a prank on Stegger and not treason that threatens Kylo's life and their son.

"It's for a good cause, Rey. You can handle him. You're wearing a blaster, right?"

"Yes." It's been poking her in the leg all night long.

"Let me see," he leans over and extends a hand toward the hem of her skirt.

She bats it away, annoyed. "You don't get to see."

"Then, the good Senator doesn't get to see either," Kylo decides.

Rey glares at him. There's no way she's going to let the traitor Senator up her thigh. "I'm not sleeping with this guy. I told you that already," she snaps at Kylo

"Don't you dare. And don't do anything else I wouldn't do," he smirks.

"That's leaves me lots of leeway," she shoots back. Really, Kylo is entirely too cheery about this assassination plot. He had way too much fun back at the palace suiting up as his incognito bodyguard self, even having Rey fasten his hair into a ponytail before they left.

He leans over now to propose, "How about you give me later tonight everything you give Stegger now."

Huh? "Is that supposed to be a disincentive or an incentive?" She's confused. Because the whole way here from the palace, Kylo had been instructing her to play along and be receptive to Stegger's plots and his romance. Get him talking, earn his trust, make nice to his terrorist friends, etc. etc. And Kylo keeps calling this a mission, like this is the war and she is one of his Knights of Ren. But instead, she's supposedly his wife and he is voluntarily sending her into another man's arms. And to be honest, that kind of hurts. Is this how platonic guy-girl friends act? He cheerfully urges you on to pseudo-adultery? Rey doesn't know, but she would not have expected this from Kylo.

Rey glances outside to catch sight of the Senator striding forward now. "Here he comes. Move over," she orders gruffly. Rey now awkwardly climbs out of the driver's seat in her high heels. "And stop looking up my dress," she growls.

"Weapons inspection," Kylo grins.

"Shut up, security man," she bites back as she grabs for her voluminous Sith princess cape to throw it about her shoulders. She yanks up the hood. Then she winces imperceptively as Kylo jumps into her mind. It hurts less now that he has done it a few more times. Plus, tonight she's expecting it. But back in the day, she remembers, they were in each other's heads so often that it didn't hurt at all.

Rey is all smiles as she alights from the speeder with the help of gallant Cato Stegger's hand. "Senator," Rey beams her broadest as instructed, ignoring how he looks her up and down even shrouded in her heavy black cloak. Really, could this guy be any more obvious? Rey had been Cade Biggs' much younger wife and corporate arm candy for many years, so she's received her fair share of admiring looks. She knows that some men find her attractive and some men do not. She's not every man's taste. But, apparently, she is Cato Stegger's type.

 _You're his terrorist temptress. And any man who doesn't think you're hot is blind._

"I don't have much time. Cato, I will be missed," she warns her host.

"We'll make this quick," Stegger promises. "I have a friend here to meet you. She's something of a gatekeeper of sorts. She insisted on meeting you in person. Rey, I haven't told her who you are."

"Who is your friend?"

"You already know her. This way," Cato gestures through the apartment towards the terrace.

But Rey waves him off, mindful of Kylo's prior warning not to make herself vulnerable outside. "No, I don't want to take the risk of being photographed out in the open. That was foolish of us last time."

"Very well. In here, then," Stegger ushers her into a small adjacent room. There she waits with her back to the door. Ostensibly, Rey is staring out a window. But in reality, her Force-attuned senses are on high alert. It is mere seconds before the door whooshes open and Stegger reappears. "I believe that you two are already acquainted," he begins. Then Rey turns around and silently throws back her hood.

Staring back at her in dismay is the senior Senator from Chandrila, Nita Warren. She is a well-known, longstanding vocal critic of Kylo Ren and a member of Stegger's liberal opposition caucus. Rey has been in meetings with Senator Warren several times. If there ever was a woman poised to take up the mantle of Leia Organa, this is she.

 _Well, well, well . . . what have we here? I can't say I am surprised._

"Her? Her?" Chandrila's Senator is incredulous. "Cato, SHE is your contact on the inside?" The woman pulls a blaster from somewhere on her person and points it squarely at Rey's chest.

 _Get ready to freeze if she shoots! I'll help._

"How could you possibly trust the Empress?" the woman hisses at Cato. "She is Ren's wife!"

"Who is better positioned to help us?" Cato counters calmly. "Now, put the gun away. The Empress has access to everything we need to plan. Plus, he trusts her."

"She's playing you! Why would she possibly help us?"

Rey answers bluntly, "Because I want Kylo Ren dead."

 _That was kind of Sith, Rey._

"Nita, put the blaster away! She was the one who got us the snapshot of Ren's datapad. She is a friend!"

"I risked an awful lot to get you that," Rey reminds them as she looks from one Senator to the other. She's staring down the barrel of a blaster gun with the best poker face she can muster. "I wanted the Resistance to know that he is building another Death Star. Maybe your world will be the next Hosnia, Senator. Cato, at least you know Coruscant is safe. He won't destroy it twice."

Chandrila's Senator is unimpressed. "Empress, you may have sympathies for our politics and you may have spent time with the Resistance back in the day, but you are not one of us. I will work with you on legislation but it will go no further than that."

"Nita, she is the best lead we are ever going to get," Cato Stegger intercedes.

But Senator Warren's mind is made up. "Empress, we will take any information you can provide. But you and I are as far as she goes, Cato. I won't risk exposing the others if this is a setup." The woman shoots Stegger another dirty look. "We will contain the damage to us."

 _That's not good. We need to learn who the others are._

"This is not a setup," Rey lies.

Stegger backs her up. "Nita, you saw what happened on Empire Day. There is no love lost between Ren and Rey."

"Oh, so it's Rey now, is it? Is she another of your affairs?" Rey bristles at this statement and the woman's eyes narrow on her. "I remember the punchline of Empire Day. It went like this: the Empress here caved and promised anything to Ren to save her psychopath son. She was Ren's creature from that moment on." Nita Warren glares at her colleague. "How are you sure she's not Ren's creature here tonight? Did you even scan her for a wire?"

"Go ahead and scan," Rey says quietly. "I'm not wearing a wire." She's wearing Kylo Ren undetectable in her head.

Nita Warren visibly relaxes but she doesn't lower her gun. So, Rey starts talking. "It's true that Kylo uses Titus to control me. But Empire Day was also what got me out of jail and here now. There is only so much I can do for the cause of freedom from a cell. I have spent a lot of time in a cell, Senators." Rey gives them both a hard look. "Too much time to have you doubt my sincerity. I have been at this fight far longer than either of you."

 _I love it. Keep bolstering your revolutionary cred, babe._

Stegger turns to his colleague. "Nita, that new backer we want to land might be impressed if he knew that the Empress is involved. That guy's got a lot of credits which we desperately need. Plus, with his connections in his industry we could get better armed. If this Death Star project is real, then we are going to need a lot more firepower, not just improvised bombs. That news Rey brought us is a gamechanger, Nita. You know that-"

"No, Cato. You can't introduce her to him without the others' knowing first-"

"Then let her meet the others-"

"No, it's too risky. She hasn't been vetted. And she is highly suspect." Again, Chandrila's Senator gives Rey some serious side eye.

 _I have always hated that woman. And I have always hated Chandrila. Now I wish I really had Death Star 4 because I would totally nuke Chandrila with her on it._

Rey has had enough preamble. Like back on Jakku, Rey likes to get right down to business. As always, she is direct. She glances over at Stegger. "Forget her, I want to meet the others. Maybe they will understand."

"Just why are you so anxious to find out more names?" Senator Warren counters with clear suspicion.

Rey responds with righteous indignation. It's an attitude the Resistance leadership ought to know well. "Because I am taking an awful risk in this and I want to know who's involved," she snaps back. "If you and your friends are a bunch of amateurs who are going to get us all killed, then I'm out." Rey now gives Cato Stegger a reproachful glare. It's part imperious Sith princess and part Jakku bravado showing through. "When I started this during the war, I sat down with Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker. Those two knew a few things about taking down an Empire. If you want my help, you're going to need to convince me that you and your supporters are worthy of that task. So far," Rey gives Nita Warren her most withering glance, "I'm not convinced."

"Oh, so now we have to impress you?" Chandrila's Senator raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, that's right."

 _Walk away. Pretend to walk away._

"I think we're done here. Goodnight, Cato. Senator." Rey nods to them both and raises her hood. Ignoring the gun trained on her, Rey makes to sweep past.

"Wait, Empress—"

"Yes?" Rey stops but does not turn around.

Chandrila's Senator backs down as she stuffs her gun away. "Perhaps I was too hasty. Let us consider this further. We don't have to decide anything tonight."

 _Press her. You have the advantage._

Rey pauses for effect. She learned back on Jakku that silence is a very effective negotiating tactic. When she turns around, Rey issues an ultimatum in a quiet voice. "You don't get another chance at this, Senators. If I come back, it is to meet the others so I can get comfortable on my end that your aims are legitimate and your means will be effective. Otherwise, I'm out. So you bring your best people and you make your best pitch with your best plan. You get one chance."

There is a long moment of silence as the two Senators exchange looks.

"That's fair," Stegger calmly agrees. "Nita," he instructs, "Go start making some calls. We need to set up a meeting of the council. They will decide if we move forward with the Empress."

"Who is the council?" Rey asks but no one answers.

"This is not a settled matter until we all decide," Senator Warren bites back at her colleague. "I continue to object to this entire course of action."

Cato nods and punts. "Understood. We'll talk offline."

"Fine," Chandrila's unpleasant Senator nods and departs in a huff with perfunctory courtesy, "Good evening, Empress." Rey watches her go.

 _What a bitch. But an astute one at that. She reminds me of my mother._

As soon as she is gone, Cato is at Rey's elbow. "Stay a moment, Rey. Don't leave yet—"

"That didn't go so well." Rey exhales the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Yes and no," he shrugs. "Nita can be a bit of a paranoid hothead. I am, shall we say, more pragmatic in my approach." Cato reaches to toss back her hood. "Stay and have a drink. Rey, let me take this cloak." In one quick move, he neatly lifts it from her shoulders and whisks it away to toss it on a nearby couch. And just like that, she is half-undressed. Stegger's eyes roam over her form fitting long sleeved, backless dress. It is scarlet red. First Order Red, Cesi Flick had named it. "How lovely you are tonight, Empress," he says appreciatively.

 _This guy is smooth, I'll give him that._

"I can't stay long," she warns as she notes with trepidation the gleam in Stegger's eye. "I don't have as much freedom as it appears. I am watched, Cato . . . "

"I know. Is that a new guy I saw with you tonight? He looks like a thug, the same as the last one," Stegger observes. "Here," he hands her a full glass from the impressively stocked bar cabinet nearby. Apparently, at Chez Stegger the treason and the booze flow freely.

Rey takes a quick drink. "It's the same guy. The beard is new," she mutters. Then she drinks again.

"Hey," Cato steps closer. He's concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I just—just—" Rey sighs. "I'm just on edge, that's all. This sort of thing makes me nervous," she confesses and it's true for a completely different reason than Cato Stegger understands. "I meant what I said, Cato. This either moves forward or it ends now. Anything else is a foolish risk. Kylo is . . . Well, very little gets past him. And to say he trusts me may be overstating things."

 _You are a born actress. This is why you negotiate so well. All those years playing Mrs. Cade Biggs have paid off._

Stegger tries to reassure her. "Let me work on Nita some. She'll come around. Some of the others are going to have her same reaction though. Those recent raids on our assets here on Coruscant have everyone a bit spooked." He thinks a moment. "Can you get me something else? If you give us more information that will help to earn the council's trust."

"I'll try," Rey makes no promises. "Cato, I'm not even sure what I gave you already. There wasn't time for me to review it. Plus, I didn't want any record of my opening it on my personal datapad. Kylo is so controlling—he probably reads it periodically. I don't know for sure . . . "

"I didn't think you looked through that file," Cato says softly. He steps closer and gives her a sympathetic look. "Rey, if you had, you would have deleted the personal pictures off of it."

 _Oh, good, I knew he would fall for this bait. Get ready to play the damsel in distress._

Rey turns away and waves him off. "Don't tell me about private pictures. I don't want to know more about what Kylo does with his girls." Rey takes another drink. "I don't care if he takes pictures of his girls."

"The pictures are of you."

"Of me?" Rey plays dumbs as she groans aloud, "Oh, Gods." And now Rey thinks that she should have asked Kylo more about those pictures. Because if Kylo put actual naked pictures of her on that fake file, she truly is going to murder him and this plot is now for real.

 _Next time we'll make a sex tape for the Resistance._ _I'll wear my mask and you can wear nothing at all_.

Cato Stegger is looking at her with sincere pity. "Ren is a violent sadist. I guess I knew that intellectually before, but I've seen it for myself now."

Uhmm . . . what does she say to that? "Oh, Cato, you have no idea . . . " Her voice trails off dramatically, mostly because she doesn't know what to say. She has no idea what those pictures show.

"I hate that he hurts you. Rey, I don't like men who hurt women. It's bad enough that you were a prisoner for so long, but-"

"I want to see them!" Rey interrupts. "I want to see the pictures. Show me," she demands.

"Are you sure you?" Cato's tone and expression discourage her.

"Yes, show me." Rey refuses to back down.

Reluctantly, Stegger pulls out a datapad and pokes at it a moment before handing it over. "Start swiping here," he says grimly and she does.

There are fifteen, maybe twenty pictures in all. All of her in the cell. In several, she is unconscious in her Empress dress, with blood pouring from her mouth, ears and nose. All the gore makes it look like she has been beat up but Rey knows this came from Kylo's mind reading that first night. That had hurt like Hell but it was a very different type of injury . . . well, sort of. In the pictures, she's on her back, arms askew and legs splayed with her skirt hiked high. There are lurid closeups of her face and an oddly sexual shot of what looks like a bloody handprint on her bare thigh. The implication is clear that she has been victimized.

 _Where did you get these from?_

 _The camera feed from your cell. The feed went only to me, Rey. To no one else_.

 _Yeah? What about your intel team that edited these?_

Disturbed, Rey swipes some more. Here she is with her face in her hands sitting in her cell crying. Then curled up in fetal position on the floor attempting to sleep. And just look at how skeletally thin she looks. All in all, the pictures tell the story of an abused, lonely prisoner in a cell. And though the pictures have been edited and altered to maximize their shock value, seeing them brings Rey back to those days in an instant. It's like a punch to the gut. She quickly puts the datapad down. She's seen enough.

 _Rey, those days are behind us now_. _I wish you hadn't seen those_.

 _Fuck you, Kylo! Those are real! They might not be what Stegger thinks, but they are still real. That suffering was real!_

 _Rey—_

 _Fuck you and your prison porn!_

"Rey, I'm so sorry." Cato Stegger takes this opportunity to put an arm around her for support. She doesn't resist his attempt at a side hug. He's not creeping, he's comforting, she can tell. And right now she kind of needs this.

"Now you know why I want him dead," she says dully. She's rattled but trying to get things back on track. Rey needs to keep her head straight around this man.

 _That's it—manipulate him with the pictures._

"I'm here for more than just politics, Cato. I want to be free of Kylo Ren. I have tried to get away before, but he always finds me. He is a violent, obsessive, possessive man."

 _Guilty on all counts. I'm all Sith, all the time._

 _Fuck you! You're sorry I saw the pictures, but you're not sorry that you hurt me like that._

 _I told you that cell was a mistake. It was all a mistake. But I'm going to use it all the same. Remember those pictures are going to help save our son._

She looks up sharply now to ask Stegger, "Did everyone see these pictures?" Does the whole Resistance think she's some battered wife?

"No. Just me. I edited them off."

"Thank you," she breathes out her relief. But then thinks better of it. "Actually, maybe you should show them to your council friends," Rey gripes. "Maybe if they saw them, they would understand that I am sincere."

"I know that you are sincere," Cato tells her. And now, it's a negotiation. "Get us more on this superweapon, Rey. Where is it being built? Can we get a copy of the plans? The council is mostly interested in the weapon."

"Cato, I don't know—"she equivocates.

 _Tell him you'll try._

"I'll try, but I don't have access to military information. Kylo doesn't consult with me on that sort of stuff."

"Don't do anything risky, Rey. I don't want him to hurt you. I hate that he hurts you," Stegger says emphatically. Then, he pulls her into a full hug. "I would never hurt you," he promises as he clasps her tight. But Stegger being Stegger, his touch doesn't stay platonic for long. With one hand, he tugs at the shoulder of her backless dress and the fabric slips off. He's about to go in for a kiss on her neck when he stops.

And ummm . . . what?

"Is this from him?" Cato asks as he pulls the sleeve down farther still. This isn't seduction. It's more like curiosity. "Did Ren do this?" With a finger the Senator tentatively traces the still red welt surrounded by a dark bruise that is the mark of Kylo's training saber. Kylo had tagged her on her left shoulder twice yesterday when they sparred. Rey never bothered to heal it. Well, actually, she had forgotten because it looks far worse than it feels.

Rey reaches self-consciously to tug up her sleeve. "It's from his sword," she answers stiffly.

 _Oh, excellent. Well played, Rey. Keep going with this._

Stegger looks horrified. "Rey, you need to get away from him-"

"I've tried! I wouldn't be here now plotting treason with you if I could simply walk away! And there is my son to think of-"

 _Yes, lay it on thick._

"Rey, I know that you are sincere—"

"But your friends don't! And until they do, I'm stuck with Kylo." She looks up at the Senator to plead, "We should be working together, not fighting amongst ourselves. That was what the Rebellion did for years and later the Resistance during the war too. Democracy will never triumph in the galaxy if we cannot find consensus among even ourselves," she declares dramatically.

"I know," Stegger agrees. "Let me talk to the council. Give me a little time. If you're really okay with it, I'll let them see the pictures. That actually might help."

"Then show them," Rey confirms. "And I will try to get you more information."

His hand moves to cup her cheek. "I hate that you have to go home to him," Stegger whispers. "I wish that you could stay here safe with me." Then he goes in for a gentle kiss.

 _Here we go again. Pucker up, Rey._

Cato has that beard she likes just like Cade Biggs and now Kylo has one too. Rey wonders as the Senator deepens the kiss what it feels like to do this with Kylo now. When they kissed after she had healed his hand, Kylo had been all rough stubble. In the intervening week and a half, it has sprouted into a full beard that Kylo is ridiculously proud of. And that makes her wonder . . . Is Kylo's kiss even better than before?

 _Yes._

That breaks the fantasy. It's time to end this. "Cato, we have to stop." Rey extricates herself mostly to come up for air. "If Kylo were here now, he would kill you for touching me," she pants. "He is a very dangerous man."

 _I like the sound of that._

Cato Stegger is not cowed. If anything, his ardor is stoked. He's moved from her lips down to her throat and her neck. His hands are roaming lower still too. "Rey, we might die in this plot anyway. But at least we will die with happy memories in each other's arms."

 _Worst. Line. Ever. Get out of there, Rey. Your job is done._

"Come into the bedroom with me," Cato urges. "Let me show you how a woman should be treated."

 _Ugh. I'm dying here with these crappy lines. Does this sort of thing really work for him?_

"I can't—"

"Yes, you can."

"I want to, but I'll be missed." It takes a few more protests, but Rey gently untangles herself from Cato Stegger. "I'm sorry." She grabs for her cloak, throwing it on as she walks quickly for the door.

"Don't be upset," Stegger calls after her as he follows.

And Rey half-turns. "It's not you," she explains awkwardly as she pulls up her hood. "It's me."

 _groaning You're as bad as he is_.

"It's those pictures. I wish I hadn't seen those pictures. Now I can't get Kylo out of my head." And that statement is far more true than Cato Stegger knows.

"Rey," the Senator meets her gaze. "Kylo Ren deserves to die. For hurting you and for so much more."

She nods and resumes walking with Stegger hot on her heels. "Get in the speeder," she orders to Kylo as she breezes by. "We're leaving."

"Yes, my lady." Kylo is playacting as subservient. He bows low.

And now, all three of them are playing a role. "I'll call your office tomorrow," Senator Stegger is strictly business now in front of her bodyguard. He even shakes her hand.

 _Should I tell him he has lipstick on his face?_

 _Don't you dare!_

"Thank you for your thoughts on that legislation, Senator," Rey mimics Cato's serious tone. "We will need to revise that language as you suggest."

"Empress," Kylo dutifully hands her into the speeder. When the door closes behind them, he turns to her. "Rey—"

"Fuck you, Kylo!" she explodes. Then she concentrates hard and throws him out of her head.

"Rey—"

"Fuck you! Don't say a word."

He doesn't. Instead, he silently cedes the speeder controls to her. He knows she's a control freak about piloting. He keeps quiet as she guns the engine and takes her turns a little fast. But Rey is upset and she needs a way to express it as she gives Kylo the silent treatment.

Ten minutes and one loud shouting gauntlet of paparazzi later, Rey and Kylo are back at the Metropolitan Club to meet the Flicks. This was the manufactured evening engagement that gave the Empress her pretend excuse to meet Cato Stegger earlier tonight. So although she is not in the mood, Rey feels compelled to keep the date. She marches in with all the enthusiasm of a prisoner marching to the firing squad.

Nestor Flick knows where they have been. "You're late. We were getting worried," the Chancellor says as he and Cesi stand to greet Rey. No one greets Kylo overtly, of course, since he is in his security disguise.

As Rey settles into the booth, Kylo pointedly surveys the room before he too sits down. "We got held up so Rey could kiss Senator Stegger."

"Seriously?" Cesi looks to her. She's alarmed. "Rey—"

Rey makes a face and looks away. She is terribly rattled by tonight. By Stegger. By the pictures. By the plot. By Kylo's glee over it all. Tonight more than ever, she misses her quiet, boring life on Kuat. "Kissing him wasn't my idea." She shoots Kylo a dirty look.

"Seriously?" Cesi looks even more alarmed.

"Yes, seriously," Rey gripes. "I need a drink. Maybe two," she tells the waiter who instantly appears at her shoulder. "Make it a double, please," she instructs.

Kylo is the one to explain. "Coruscant's playboy Senator thinks he is seducing Rey into bed and into treason. In that order." He is defensive about her grumbling. "There was never any danger. You're overreacting," he accuses.

"Is that what Stegger was bugging you for last time we went out?" Cesi doesn't miss a beat.

"Yes," Rey scowls. "It turns out he's into sex and assassination."

"And he is okay with this?" Cesi gestures to Kylo and asks Rey.

"Oh, Kylo thinks it's a great idea." Rey takes a long drink of the cocktail the waiter has just set down. "Kylo loves this undercover business. He's happy to pimp me out to whoever."

Even Nestor seems surprised. "You're really okay with this, Boss?"

"It's a trap and she's playing along with it-what's the big deal?" Kylo shrugs. "Rey is blowing this out of proportion."

"This doesn't sound like you at all," the Chancellor points out.

His wife looks from Kylo to Rey. Cesi's tone is disappointed. "So you two really are just friends after all?"

"Yes!" Rey and Kylo both answer in unison. Then she takes another long drink. It goes down hard and she coughs a bit afterwards.

For her part, Cesi recovers fast. "Well, in that case, tell me about Cato Stegger." Lady Flick is openly curious now. "So . . . is he as good as he looks? As good as I've heard? What's it like to kiss-"

"I'm sitting right here," Cesi's husband reminds her.

"Yes, dear, but I know how you kiss." Lady Flick leans in for some girl talk. "So . . . how far did you let Stegger go?"

Rey can feel her face flush. "Cesi!" she hisses. "I haven't slept with him. And I don't intend to."

"I'm not asking if he's good in bed, I'm asking how well he kisses," Cesi doesn't take the hint to let the subject drop.

"The correct answer is 'Not as good as me,'" Kylo drawls.

Rey just takes another drink.

"We are having this conversation again without the guys," Cesi decides as she sits back in her seat.

"New topic, please," Nestor groans. "And let's order. I'm hungry."

Their orders are taken and now Kylo moves on. "How is the Senate convocation coming, Cesi? Are we ready for next week?" Before Lady Flick can answer, Kylo turns to Rey. "You will be there, right?"

Rey nods and waves breezily. "Sure. I go to parties, I kiss your enemies. Whatever, Kylo. All in a day's work." She looks away. "I need another drink."

"Slow down, babe," Kylo tells her. "And eat something first. You are a lightweight as is. A featherweight, really."

"Who the fuck are you calling skinny?" Rey shoots to her feet. Her voice is loud enough to attract attention. "I am not skinny! I read yesterday on the holonet that I am fashionably slim."

"Sit down!" Kylo yanks her into her seat. "Do you google yourself every day on the holonet?" he demands.

"Doesn't everyone?" Cesi answers.

"Don't do that, Rey," Kylo is firm. He turns to her and his tone is placating. "Ignore the haters. Who cares what they think? You only need to please me."

"And Senator Stegger, apparently," she gripes. "Since you don't mind if I kiss other guys and we are just friends, then you won't mind if I take some new guy home tonight. Right?"

"What?" Kylo's face darkens.

"I've noticed that there are some very good-looking men over at the bar tonight." Again, Rey stands to her feet. "Come on, Cesi. Let's go pick one up."

"Rey-" her friend shakes her head and shoots her a warning look.

"Or maybe I'll take home a woman instead," Rey muses aloud. It's a deliberate provocation.

Kylo just smirks. "Well, actually, that I might go for-"

"Oh, I didn't say that you were invited to join us," Rey snaps back.

"I'm fine with that," Kylo agrees, "so long as I can watch."

"Sit down, Rey," Cesi commands. "Now suck it up and take one for the team. First Order wives sometimes have to sacrifice and in the scheme of things kissing Coruscant's hottie Senator isn't exactly hard duty. Do you have any idea how many potluck suppers I hosted on base years ago?" She shudders at the memory.

"Wait-you think Stegger is hot?" Nestor turns to his wife. He is flabbergasted.

Kylo is smug. "It's the beard."

"Did anyone pull a gun on you during those potluck dinners?" Rey challenges Lady Flick.

"No, but it would have alleviated the boredom." Cesi is blunt. "And no man who doesn't have a death wish is going to go home from here with Kylo Ren's wife. So sit down and eat your dinner," she orders. It's Lady Flick in her most take charge tone. And Rey, like everyone else, meekly complies.

"New topic, please," Nestor groans. "What's with the new look, Kylo? No man bun tonight?"

Kylo shrugs. "I like to mix it up a little."

"He lost the bun and found the beard," Rey observes dryly. She's still not used to looking at the new beard. Kylo has a habit of stroking at it that is uncannily Jedi Master Luke Skywalker even though he now wears it shaved into a very sharp, close cropped style. From some angles, it makes him look very diabolical and Kylo knows it. Who knew the Sith would be so vain? Rey had wandered over into his suite last night and busted him trying out poses in the mirror.

Cesi Flick considers the issue. "Ponytail and beard. Altogether, that is a lot of hair," she decides. It's not a compliment.

"What?" Kylo complains. "Think of it as a disguise."

"No gray," Nestor Flick is impressed.

"Jealous?"

"Hell, yeah."

"There's no point in being jealous," Cesi informs her husband. Again, she's using her most take charge tone. "Because you are never wearing a beard."

"Yes, dear," Nestor replies.

"Rey likes it," Kylo announces, looking to her for an approving nod. "Don't you, babe?"

"You do?" Cesi is surprised. Then unconvinced. "Are you sure she's not just saying she likes it? Because women do that."

"I can tell in the Force when she's lying," Kylo reminds everyone. "She's telling the truth."

"I am so glad you don't have the Force," Cesi confides to Nestor.

"Likewise," the Chancellor emphatically replies. "I'm not sure we would have stayed married if we had the Force. There is such a thing as too much honesty."

Dinner arrives and Rey picks at it. She's never hungry when she is stressed. Nestor and Kylo are talking at length about Titus and she and Cesi are mostly listening. It's clear the Chancellor is enjoying teaching the boy to shoot. It's good for her son to have another male role model in his life, Rey decides. Plus, Nestor is a normal man without the Force. Better still, he has the opposite personality of Kylo. Even tempered and pragmatic, problem-solving in his outlook and habitually chill. Nestor Flick is a lot like Cade Biggs, Rey decides, and that probably helps too. Because these high-strung father-son Skywalker men tend to set one another off. And that worries Rey. At twelve, Titus can't really compete with his Emperor Sith lord father, but there will come a day when he can. And who knows what will happen then.

"I'm getting your boy a blaster for his birthday," Nestor tells Kylo with a happy grin. "Not the military issue kind he's got now. One of those custom jobs that is programmed only to fire in his hand."

"Hux used to have one of those."

"I consider it a good safety lock, Boss. So when your kid is showing it off to his friends at school none of them will shoot themselves or anyone else with it."

Kylo nods at this wisdom. "The kid looks like a gunslinger now. He reminds me of my dad marching around with a blaster strapped to his hip."

"Whereas it's open carry with lightsabers for the rest of your clan," Nestor points out.

"Yeah," Kylo smirks. "I guess you're right." He sits back in his seat and takes a drink. "My old man never went anywhere without a blaster," he recalls. "It's weird how much Titus reminds me of him. He even walks like my father."

"Really?" Rey questions. "I think he stomps around like you."

"Yeah?" Kylo seems pleased by this comment. "When is his birthday?"

"Next week," Rey answers. "I can't believe he's going to be thirteen. Wow . . . time flies."

"Especially when you miss most of it," Kylo says softly. And Rey doesn't know whether to feel guilty or indignant at that comment. But Kylo moves on. He looks to her now. "What are we getting the kid for his birthday?"

"I don't know," Rey replies. She throws it out there to the group. "What do you think?"

"When I was thirteen, all I wanted was a girlfriend," Nestor recalls aloud.

"So you're saying I should buy the kid a woman?" Kylo drawls.

Nestor chuckles. "That's what Grandpa Snoke would do. Titus would come home to find a Twi'lek slave girl in his room that night."

"Don't you dare!" Rey is serious, even if the men are kidding. "Gifts were a lot easier when Titus was younger and he would be happy with a toy. What did you want at age thirteen?" she asks Kylo.

He thinks back. "I was a geeky kid and a late bloomer. At thirteen, I hadn't yet discovered girls. I was still obsessed with the Clone Wars."

"So you're saying we should buy him a battle droid factory?" Nestor laughs. "Careful, Kylo, or he'll build an army and start a war."

"That's not funny," Kylo complains. "Titus is a Skywalker, you know. We do things like that."

"I was thinking about getting him an old speeder we could fix up together," Rey volunteers. "You know, like a project for us to work on in our spare time."

"Don't you have to be fifteen to have a license?" Cesi points out.

Rey shrugs. "Kylo lets him fly a TIE fighter, so what's the big deal?"

"You know, you could just buy him a new speeder," Cesi Flick reminds her. "It's not like Kylo doesn't have the credits and he is the Emperor's son."

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that? I want us to do something together as a family that's not the Force," Rey explains. "Titus gets too much Force as it is."

"I like that idea, Rey," Kylo approves. "I'll even help. I can't rebuild a hyperdrive like you, but I can fix a speeder."

Dinner is over and they depart. As usual, the Flicks are a good diversion. Tonight, Cesi walks right up to the waiting press. While the Chancellor is giving soundbites on policy and Cesi is saying who designed her dress, Rey and Kylo sneak away without incident.

"Move over. You're shotgun. I'm driving," Kylo is firm as he follows her into the speeder. "You'll get us killed, Empress. You've been drinking."

"So have you," she slurs a little.

"Not as much," Kylo retorts and it's hard to argue with that logic.

"Oh, alright. Just don't take us home," Rey says as she practically drapes herself over Kylo's shoulder to look on as he starts fiddling with the speeder's controls. "Let's go somewhere."

"Like where?" Kylo asks. His head swivels in surprise and their cheeks touch briefly. It's the first time she's actually felt his new beard. It's nice. Very nice. Surprisingly soft.

"Anywhere," she exhales as she drops into the front passenger seat beside him. And, well, maybe that was more of a lucky fall than anything. Kylo is right-she is a little tipsy. Not full on drunk, but definitely buzzed.

Kylo thinks a minute and then agrees, "As you wish." Then he guns the engine and they are off. "I love this world," he says softly as he expertly weaves through nighttime Coruscant. "I hated to destroy it. I couldn't wait for it to be rebuilt. It will always be my home."

"Where are we going?" she asks as the bright lights of Coruscant whizz by. Kylo seems like he is heading someplace in particular.

"You'll see. It's a surprise." Kylo smiles over at her as he says this. He looks relaxed and happy. A little mischievous too. It's these evenings out incognito, she thinks. They seem to put him in a good mood. "We're almost there actually."

Two minutes later he swoops the speeder down for a gentle landing. He hops out and she sort of falls out but lands on her feet.

"A park?" Rey grins in surprise and delight. She hadn't been expecting this. This desert girl always loves the sight of grass and trees. "I love it!" She claps her hands girlishly and then teeters a bit in her heels from the effort.

"Whoa there, Rey," Kylo makes to catch her. "Do you need to lean on me?"

"I'm good," she brushes him off as she rights herself. "I'm good."

"You're drunk," he smirks.

"Maybe a little," she concedes. "But not too drunk to see a park. What is this place?" She looks around.

"It's a park now but it has been different things during the years. For a thousand years, this was the site of a Jedi temple. The main Jedi Temple, actually. There was even a Force tree here. Come," he beckons her towards the center of the park. "I think it was somewhere over here."

"This was the Coruscant Jedi temple?" Rey confirms as they wander. "This was where the Jedi High Council met?"

"Yes." He is clearly pleased by her interest. "This was where the holochron archive was kept. Where Vader began the Purge." Kylo turns a slow circle now to survey the mostly empty green space that is a very rare sight on urban Coruscant. There is not much here but a few walkways and benches, Rey sees. It is dimly lit and empty this late at night.

"Later on, this was the site of Palpatine's palace. After his Empire fell, the New Republic made it a museum and housed some of its bureaucrats here. But all that was destroyed in the war. When we were rebuilding, I ordered this space left fallow. Somehow, it seemed wrong to put some pricey apartment building on this spot." Kylo pauses a moment to add, "This was sacred ground once. I wanted to honor it."

That's so Kylo of him, Rey thinks. Darth Ren is always so reverent for his beloved Force. He's been Jedi and he's been Sith, and at this point in life the reigning Sith Master has come to respect it all. And that is a remarkable accomplishment actually.

Kylo must be thinking the same thing, for he continues his theme to the punchline. "Our family would be unthinkable to those who have occupied this spot. Rey, this is where Snoke's Jedi wife was stripped of her Force sensitivity for consorting with a Sith. This is where Sidious and Vader began systematically exterminating the Jedi Order."

"They made martyrs of younglings and padawans," she remembers as Kylo nods.

"This was where two competing worldviews met head on."

"Yes. Two sets of flawed truths," she observes. Speaking of this history is sobering. Literally. And maybe, she thinks, this history helps to explain why it is that she and Kylo have such a tempestuous, hurt-filled past together. Because they have tried to bridge differences with love that everyone else gone before has attempted to resolve with war. No wonder it isn't easy. Maybe it just can't be done.

"What do you think the old guard would make of us?" she asks Kylo with a raised eyebrow.

He answers with a wicked little smile. "You are I would be strictly forbidden." Then he muses a moment. "Rey, they wouldn't understand us. When people can't put something in a familiar context, they don't understand it. And so often, we only can conceive of things that are in opposition to one another. Black and white, good and evil, truth and lies. Someone always makes a claim for the moral high ground. Both the Jedi and the Sith were convinced of the supremacy of their views."

"You and I have broken a lot of those old rules."

"Yep," he easily agrees. "Rey, you would be a shameful Jedi expelled from the Order and I would be considered a weak Sith for my commitment to our family." Kylo shrugs sort of sheepishly as he explains, "Power is supposed to come first and foremost, you know . . . "

"But love doesn't make you weak," she protests.

He agrees. "There is nothing shameful about it either. Love is precious. The Jedi were wrong to disdain it."

Rey looks around again in silence at this quiet spot where so much blood was spilled on both sides. She finds all this Force war history to be daunting. And the fact that the Skywalkers lately have been at the epicenter of it all cannot be denied. "Can't we just be people and not a set of ideologies?" she complains. "Why does anything have to be forbidden in the Force?"

Kylo nods. "That's my goal. There are no rules for us. No limitations on how to use the Force. No prohibitions on attachments. No grand plan focused more on revenge than progress. Titus will learn this history, Rey, but he will never live it."

"I wonder if he will ever appreciate how much freedom he has," she observes thoughtfully.

"I hope so. Do you sense anything here?" Kylo asks her hopefully. "Can you feel anything special about this place in the Force?"

Rey concentrates a moment. "No. I don't sense anything."

"Try again, drunk girl."

She does and shakes her head.

He is disappointed, she sees. But not surprised. Kylo looks a bit wistful now, like Rey remembers he would get sometimes in those old Imperial wrecks on Jakku. "All that history. All that power. Nothing remains of it now except the holochrons Vader saved and the Jedi knowledge you and I know."

"What a waste," Rey murmurs.

"Indeed," he agrees. Kylo continues in his reflective mood as they resume wandering. "Rey, this is the consequence of war. It destroys lives, it destroys cities, and it destroys knowledge. If we are not careful, you and I will be the end and not the continuation of the Force." When she nods, he continues. "I can't let Stegger and his friends succeed in organizing a true Resistance movement. They will start a war and there will be chaos again."

"And they will kill Titus," Rey adds the fear that keeps her up at night.

"No," he corrects her sharply. "You'll both be dead. Rey, they won't let a Palpatine Empress live any more than they will let Kylo Ren's son survive. If you and Titus survive, at best you will be hunted the rest of your lives."

"Stegger and his friends aren't even giving you a chance to implement reforms," she sighs.

Kylo doesn't seem surprised. "They don't trust me to make real reforms. And I can't really blame them. My track record on this sort of thing is sketchy at best. But that doesn't excuse their plot."

"No, it doesn't," Rey says in a hard tone.

Kylo comes to a halt now and she does too. He turns to face her, his dark eyes searching hers for understanding. "Rey, I am not keen on throwing you into my enemy's arms. But Cato Stegger likes to mix business with pleasure, so you need to play along for now. You are the bait to catch him and the rest of the Resistance ringleaders. It's important that I arrest their entire leadership. Taking out Stegger alone won't stop them. It's not enough."

"I understand." It's the truth. She does understand that logic of it all. But she can't help but feel a little hurt by Kylo's pragmatic indifference. This calculated, sly man is not the hot tempered, jealous Sith she used to know. Younger Kylo would have lit his sword and taken Cato's head off at the first stolen kiss. Older Kylo wants to use Cato's attraction to her as a tool to manipulate him.

"Once they are arrested, the opposition will be in disarray. That will allow me time to implement my changes without a chorus of naysayers. While the Resistance regroups-and they will regroup-I can make progress winning the hearts and minds of the public with my reforms."

"So you are buying time and avoiding a war?" she summarizes.

"Yes. And I am protecting myself and my family. And safeguarding the traditions of the Force lest they die with us." He gives her a serious look. "Rey, that's worth a few kisses."

"I understand," she repeats. Truly, she does. But she is far from enthusiastic about this.

They are in public, but Kylo recklessly reaches to take her hands. "Rey, all I need you to do is get to Stegger's friends. Just a few more meetings and then this will be over and I will make my move."

"You'll arrest him?"

"I'm going to kill him," Kylo answers plainly. "Probably his friends too."

"They don't get a trial? They should get a trial," Rey protests reflexively.

He raises an eyebrow. "With my wife as the star witness for their entrapment defense?"

"Oh." She hadn't thought of that.

"Maybe I will give the others a trial, but not Stegger. Rey, that guy dies. It's what the hardliners will expect and I owe them now for their support of the Starkiller resolution. I cannot look weak in their eyes by coddling terrorists."

Reluctantly, she agrees, "Yes, that makes sense."

"Besides, Stegger is plenty guilty." Then Kylo adds with cold Sith-like bloodlust, "I'm looking forward to killing him."

Is it wrong of Rey to want that too? Just a little? "I hate being pawed by him," she complains.

"Just keep thinking of me the whole time," Kylo leans in to huskily suggest.

"You knew?" Rey reddens as she teeters back, then mutters, "Of course, you knew. You were in my mind at the time-" She looks down in embarrassed confusion. "Well, I still don't like it. Because he's not you and pretending he is doesn't really help." Rey takes a deep breath and confesses, "Kylo, he's no you."

"I know. I've been there." She looks up sharply at this and Kylo awkwardly explains, "Look, I tried to pretend that those young girls were you a few times. It never worked." It's an embarrassing personal admission, and Kylo flushes. "The only reason I can put up with Cato Stegger hitting on you is that I know it's for your protection in the long run."

And that helps Rey feel better about it too. It's not that Kylo doesn't care. He's only allowing it because he does care. It's more twisted logic of a sly Sith.

All this honesty and all tonight's liquor loosens Rey's tongue. "Kylo, you're not my friend," she confesses softly as she looks away. He's still holding her hands. "I have tried, but I will never look at you the way I look at Nestor Flick."

"Rey—"

She overrides him, wanting to get this out before she loses the nerve. "I was married to a man who was more friend than anything for ten years. I know what friends are." She inhales a deep breath and looks up at him. Staring up into those intense dark eyes that reflect the Sith's every emotion. Years in a mask mean he has no poker face. He's never needed one. "Kylo," she says in a very certain tone. It's part confession and part warning. "We are not friends. We will never be just friends."

He doesn't dispute her. "This isn't working for me either," he replies. He sounds almost relieved to say it. "I can't do this, Rey. You're not a friend. And calling you my sister again won't help."

Rey recoils at this idea. "Yeah, you are definitely not a brother. That's too weird." That was always weird, actually.

"Do we have to have a name for it?" he wonders aloud as he screws up his face. "Does it matter what we call ourselves?"

"Yeah," she responds. "Yeah, it does. I need to understand what to expect, Kylo. To know where our boundaries lie." And are there any boundaries when you live side by side with an open door in between that you both make good use of? Are there any boundaries when he's in her mind when she heals him and when she visits Senators to plot treason? They share a home, they share a child, they share a vision of the future she is helping to implement. Their lives are far more intertwined than separate these days. So are there any boundaries left? Well, there is that boundary . . . but if they keep kissing that distance will disappear too. It's only a matter of time. Kylo is far too attractive and their proximity too close. And now that they aren't screaming at each other constantly, Kylo is getting under her skin in a completely different way than before.

Lately, Rey's thoughts keep wandering in directions they should not. All it takes is a look from those brooding eyes that peek from under longish, tousled bangs and Rey is thinking of things she should not be. She and Kylo have always had this same magnetic physical chemistry. His Dark allure is hard to resist when it's coupled with all that Sith aggression and obsession. Kylo Ren is a man who gets what he wants. And back in the days when he wanted her, something buried deep inside Rey thrilled to know it. For the orphaned child from Jakku had for so many lonely years longed to be wanted by someone. To belong to someone. And that her someone was the most powerful man in the universe didn't hurt. It's no accident that the powerless scavenger gravitates to a Sith. Rey doesn't need Kylo to protect her, but it's comforting that he can. Thinking back, Rey knows that day he saved her from slavers was the day she started falling in love with him.

Back then, she had been too inexperienced and starved for intimacy to realize what was happening. Too emotionally stunted by Jakku to recognize love when she finally felt it. Too immature and confrontational to try to work things out rather than leaving. Rey knows now that love isn't like on the holonet shows. Things are never simple and easy. When the handsome prince shows up, he always has strings attached and baggage with him. And, well, so does she. But conflict doesn't necessarily mean your relationship doesn't work. It's how you resolve the conflict that matters. And Rey had been terrible at that. Back on Jakku, she had resolved conflicts with fight or flight. And those were the same principles she had used with Kylo Ren. To disastrous results. Still, she had been so young back then—only nineteen at the start. But in many ways, Rey thinks now that she had been more like sixteen. Not worldly at all in affairs of the heart and clueless in general about love. There is a lot she would do over now if she could. But she can't. Kylo isn't the only one with regrets, she knows.

"Boundaries . . . oookay," he responds slowly. "You're saying you want rules for us?"

"Yes."

"Do we have to have rules? Do we need limits, Rey?" Kylo throws out this offer offhand.

Her eyes narrow. "What are you saying?"

"I guess I'm saying that while we are reconciling the warring sides of the galaxy, do you think we could reconcile us?"

Instantly, Rey deflects the question. "Is that what you want?"

"I'm asking you," he persists. Kylo's eyes pin hers and now his gloved hands squeeze tight. "I know what I want. What do you want, Rey?"

Her breath catches in her throat a moment. And, damn, did he have to ask her this when she is still half-drunk? "What would Titus think?" she stalls.

"Does it matter?"

"Of course, it matters!"

Kylo looks unconvinced. But he plays along. "Well, I was a kid whose parents split up and I always wanted them back together," he reasons.

"But you hated your father—"

"Yeah, I did. But a lot of that was because he left my mother. Han Solo broke promises like he broke business deals. He was a faithless, worthless sort of man. I'm not like that. Rey, I'm not like that at all."

Yes, she knows. If anything, Kylo is the opposite extreme. He promises forever and he can and will deliver on it. And years later, that still has Rey scared. Kylo promises love everlasting, life eternal, along with all the power, credits, and prestige she could ever want. But danger, oh so much danger, too.

His hands leave hers now and reach to cup her face. And is he going to kiss her? This was the leadup to last time when he kissed her. Suddenly, Rey really wants him to kiss her. She lifts her chin and their faces are so close and . . . he drops his hands and steps back. "Think about it, Rey. It could be good. It could be very good."

She's standing there transfixed in the moment. Indecision freezing her in place. Could she? Should she? And is this really a choice? Or is this inevitable either way?

"Come on, let's go home." Kylo starts striding for the speeder, leaving her behind. "Are you coming?" he looks back over his shoulder when she doesn't keep pace.

Rey slowly nods. "Yeah, I'm coming. Wait up."

Soon they are in the speeder heading for the palace. Both alone with their thoughts. As they pull into the landing platform she turns to him, "Kylo—"

But his stern look cuts her off. "Rey, I don't want this unless you want it. We've been down this road before. If you don't want to move forward, that it is fine. Things can stay as is . . . whatever this is. We'll do whatever boundaries you like . . . "

"Kylo—"

He cuts her off again. "It's an open offer. You don't have to decide now." He sighs heavily and looks away. It's clear that he's expecting rejection. His voice is strained and annoyed sounding. "Please-please don't answer me now."


	40. Chapter 40

"Kylo Ren can sense danger in the Force. He will be very hard to kill."

That's Rey's ice breaker as she marches in and dramatically throws back her hood. Her audience is the mysterious council that constitutes what is left of the Resistance leadership. In all, they are six men and two women, already assembled and waiting at Cato Stegger's Coruscant apartment when Rey arrives. Among them, Rey recognizes Stegger, Nita Warren, and another liberal Senator she has previously met. The others include two businessmen from the Mid Rim, a law professor from Coruscant University and, of all things, the First Order regional governor for the Outer Core worlds. One by one, they introduce themselves somberly, with a degree of mistrust that borders on dread.

 _Kylo, are you getting these names?_

 _Yes._

Her goal today is to build respect and credibility. To be welcomed into this murderous conspiracy in hopes of learning more. For there will be one chance to sweep for conspirators before news of the crackdown sends everyone else underground. And then the Resistance will languish in the shadows a few more years before reemerging with new leadership, new financing, and new faces. But, always, the same old revolutionary goals.

Peace is a lie, Kylo had reminded Rey tonight before she walked in. Telling her again that he wants to contain and to diffuse conflicts wherever possible, rather than to let them ripen into war. Always remember, Kylo had told her, you are doing this to protect our son. And that is a persuasive argument for her. Survivor Rey doesn't take risks lightly and long ago she determined she would not fight for abstract ideals. But she will fight for her son. Family is the only thing worth fighting for according to the orphan Rey of Jakku.

And so, she listens patiently as the council outlines two alternatives to kill Emperor Ren. The first is an ambush on the palace landing platform that she summarily dismisses out of hand. Kylo Ren can sense anxiety, she warns them. He easily detects fear and he can spot a lie. That's why any ruse or assassin will likely be found out. The second plot is a bomb placed under Kylo's throne. This too seems amateurish, but Rey plays along. She wants to know who else in the palace is working with these traitors. It only takes a few pointed questions before an unnamed palace guard and a maintenance worker are added to Kylo's growing proscription list.

They want her help to plant the bomb, of course. Perhaps she can help plan a diversion too? And since Rey sits on Kylo's throne regularly, maybe she can take some surreptitious surveillance pictures for them also? It's all very ad hoc, low tech, and unimpressive, Rey thinks. These truly are terrorists whose default tactic is to indiscriminately blow stuff up. The Resistance leaders may be very intelligent and highly skilled, but none has a military or technical background. They are thinkers rather than doers, and Rey judges that will limit their success.

This isn't the first time there has been an attempt on Kylo Ren's life, she reminds them. No one yet has ever gotten close. The Sith are notoriously hard to kill, and there's a reason they usually die with a sword in their hand. Historically, it takes a Sith to kill a Sith or a Jedi at the very least. Bombs and ambushes rarely work.

"But the only other Sith is a child and the only Jedi is you," Nita Warren points out. "Are those possibilities at all?" she asks plainly.

"I tried once to kill Kylo and I failed," Rey confesses. "He's far stronger in the Force now. I don't think I can kill him," she admits.

"And your son?"

The very question angers Rey but she hides it well. "My son is a child and I will not ask him to kill his own father." In the moment, it feels like Rey can sense Kylo growling in her head. "I am doing this for my son, Senator. So Titus will be free of the influence of his father. So he will be safe. I need assurances that my son will be unharmed."

The three liberal Senators exchange glances before Cato Stegger speaks for the group. "Your boy will be safe." Through the Force, Rey hears the lie loud and clear. "We will make sure that your son is safely away when this happens."

"Yes," the law professor tells Rey with a patient smile. "Our people will pick him up. We'll prearrange the whole thing."

"Your boy will be safe." Cato Stegger lies again.

And now, Rey has to avert her face. She fears that her anger will show and she will give herself away. For in this moment, she hates this man and his friends. She's a girl from Jakku and she wants desert justice. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Murder for murder. As far as she's concerned, Cato Stegger needs to die for his casual willingness to kill her son. Maybe that's a little Sith of her, but Rey can't help how she feels.

 _No one threatens our family and lives. Now, take it easy, babe. Keep playing along._

It's hard to keep her focus, though. For this whole plot hits very close to home. All Rey has ever wanted was a family. She has had several misfires along the way. First, the Resistance had offered her a home, but Rey declined their zealotry. Then Snoke had adopted her and Kylo had promised forever until she had fled from his expectations and his war. For a time, Cade Biggs had given her a proxy for the perfect homelife that Rey had seen on holonet shows. But then Rey's lies caught up with her and so did Kylo Ren. And now, after months in a prison cell and a very public, very deadly scene, she is the Empress she never wanted to be and the pretend wife to Emperor Ren. She, Kylo and Titus are now the accidental, dysfunctional Imperial family. It's as unexpected as it is improbable, but she and Kylo keep trying to make it work. For all their many differences, Titus is their common ground.

Family is not always a bond of blood, Rey knows, but blood is hard to ignore. Like it or not, Kylo is her son's father and that matters. Because where the Skywalkers are concerned, blood and the Force go hand in hand. And that means Skywalker family conflict is more than a typical domestic disturbance, usually it's a war. That's why Rey now shares Kylo's desire for a peaceful future and his hopes for their son. Sure, the Sith is far from a perfect husband and father but he's also not the callous brute the galaxy thinks he is. Kylo has always been a far more thoughtful and deliberate man than he got credit for. And for as much as Titus says he hates his father, he also hangs on Kylo's every word. Wandering into their training session this morning, Rey had caught them learning a flashy spin. Father and son side by side laughing at the boyish fun of it all. You've got to do it with attitude, Kylo had counseled, it's a cocky move. So Titus had done his best to imitate his father's obnoxious smirk as well as his movements. He was Kylo's earnest mini me in the moment until he dropped his sword. It was all Rey could do not to laugh out loud.

She will not let Cato Stegger and his Resistance friends take those moments away. In Cade Biggs, Titus lost the only father he has ever known, the foster parent he still calls Dad. She won't let the Resistance take away Kylo too. Her son needs Kylo. Boys need fathers. And, more and more she sees, Kylo needs his son. For months, she has watched Kylo teaching nightly at dinner. And now she sees him in his training studio too. Relaxed and happy as he speaks of the Force, sharing its history and its lore. Kylo is the reigning Sith Master, the high priest of Darkness, and the Skywalker patriarch now. And those positions seem to engage and excite him far more than his Emperor role does. Ruling the galaxy is Darth Ren's day job but the Force is his true calling, she knows. And Rey was Snoke's pupil long enough to know that the future of the Force, the future of her family, and the future of the galaxy are all intertwined. And so, for the good of all, this time the Resistance needs to lose.

 _Easy, babe. Keep your cool._

Her conversation with the Resistance council concludes quickly. Rey is enlisted to the assassination cause and given some discreet tasks. Timing is the only contentious issue. Rey wants to move quickly, but the others prefer caution. We only get one chance at this, she is told. But Rey rejects this approach. We will try, she tells them, and then we will try again. If we fail, we'll take the next chance. And the next. On and on until we win or the chances are spent. This 'never give up' posturing seems to put to bed the lingering fears about Rey's genuineness. Finally, she senses the room relax. Then one by one, the others slink off so as not to be seen leaving together. Whether or not they walk past Kylo, Rey doesn't know.

Finally, it is just Cato Stegger and Nita Warren left. "When are you meeting the Flicks?" Stegger asks a little too casually.

 _In an hour, but you're in no hurry._

"In about an hour or so."

"Good," Cato decides. "Then you have time to meet someone else. His transport was late but he's on his way here now."

 _Excellent. Ask him who._

"Who am I meeting?" Rey asks. "Is this guy safe?" And why is she meeting this person behind the backs of the others?

"Yes, he's safe. He has met selective members of the council, but not our entire group. We only convene the whole group for you, Empress," Stegger gives her a pointed look. "Our visitor is a wealthy backer who have been trying to land. Rey, we need money for this plot. Rebellions aren't built on hope, they are built on credits. But some of my colleagues are a bit too high-minded to admit that. Myself, I'm the more pragmatic type."

"You're the money man," Rey concludes.

"Yes. It's crass, but true."

 _Ask him about the backers_.

"Do you have a lot of donors to your cause?"

"We have a few. For security reasons, we focus selectively on donors willing to contribute large amounts. We're not interested in small, one-time donations. It's a waste of time to chase those down and it can be risky too." Stegger shrugs. "The rich like to influence things, Rey, and I am happy to take their credits. This particular guy has very deep pockets, but more importantly, he has connections to things we need. In his case, we might prefer the donation to be in-kind."

"He's here," Senator Warren says as she checks her com. "I'll go get him." Then she disappears from the room.

Rey now wanders over to the window. Instantly, Cato Stegger is at her side. "Well done with the council," he approves before he moves on to romance. He pins her with those sexy crinkly eyes of his as he leans in to confide, "I've been thinking a lot about you."

 _Flirt with him._

 _Do I have to?_

 _Yes_.

Rey does her best to smile coyly. "Then you're in luck. This week you'll be seeing me a lot. I'll be at all the Senate Convocation festivities."

"They are making me pledge loyalty to Ren again," Coruscant's Senator complains. "It's not just the new Senators swearing this term. The Senate leadership has been asked to bow and scrape too. Supposedly, it's a show of unity because of the grumbling on the far right from the Starkiller resolution. Flick wants to make a show of everyone's commitment before it is publicly announced."

Rey raises an eyebrow playfully. "So even the lowly Minority Leader has to pledge his loyalty?"

Cato chuckles. "Most especially the Minority Leader, Rey. I am for all intents and purposes the leader of the loyal opposition." His sarcasm is thick.

"Does it bother you to make that pledge?" Rey asks him plainly. She's wondering whether it bothers him to lie.

Stegger shrugs. "Not if it's for a good cause. I can do just about anything for the cause."

Yes, she knows. Killing her entire family is at the top of that list.

 _Keep flirting_.

 _I'm terrible at this._

 _No, you're not_.

"I'm excited to see how the press and the people react to our resolution, Cato. This apology is long overdue. Making it unanimous is pretty impressive, too."

Cato makes a face. "The resolution means nothing since Ren is building a new Starkiller. Now, I understand why he agreed to do it. It is all a lie," he gripes. "An empty gesture at best."

"It won't be a lie to the families of the people killed," Rey says softly.

And now, Senator Warren returns with the visitor. The door whooshes open and Rey turns back from the window. "Empress, this is—"

"Cade." The name comes out as a hoarse, horrified stage whisper. Rey stares and Cade Biggs stares back. They are equally as surprised. And also, equally uncertain. Rey takes a step forward, Cade takes a step forward too, then they both stop in their tracks.

Senator Warren finishes the now awkwardly unnecessary introduction. "Yes. Empress, this is Cade Biggs of Kuat."

 _Fuuuuck. Get out of there! Now!_

"C-Cade?" Rey stammers. Suddenly, she is trembling with the implications of this reveal. Both for herself and for her ex-husband. And for Kylo loitering down the hall who has been seen by this man unmasked. "Oh, Cade . . . n-no . . . not you . . . " Oh Gods, this can't be happening. Rey's mind is frozen in shock.

Cade too is incredulous. His brow furrowed as he squints at her in surprise. "You're the contact at the palace?" He looks from Senator to Senator for confirmation and then back to her.

 _I know all the names I need to make arrests. Now, get out of there, Rey! That's an order!_

"Oh, Cade, this isn't you . . ." Rey is still sputtering out words.

"I take it you two know each other?" Senator Stegger draws the obvious conclusion as he exchanges glances with his colleague across the room.

"Y-Yes," Cade rasps. "Once we knew each other very well." Cade looks away and adds, "At least, I thought we did."

Rey nods to confirm. She improvises for the benefit of their audience, "Cade is an old family friend. A dear family friend. I am surprised, that's all." Then in an instant Rey becomes her most imperious Empress self. "Leave us," she commands to their curious onlookers.

It doesn't go over well. "Oh, no," the ever astute Senator Warren speaks up. "You don't get to conspire behind our backs, Empress. Anything you have to say to Biggs, you can say to us now."

Cato Stegger remains silent, but he too is watching her and Cade closely.

 _Biggs doesn't know enough to blow your cover. He doesn't know what your real motivations are. Remember that he thinks you are here to kill me. That's your angle, Rey._

Rey swallows hard. She starts looking for something benign to say. "I guess we're in this together. Aren't we, Cade?" she prompts weakly. Her voice ends on a hopeful but questioning up note. The stakes are higher now than ever. Because if this conversation goes badly, she might end up dead here tonight.

 _Whatever he says, go with it. Agree with Biggs, don't argue. No ugly scenes, Rey. Just get out._

Cade is looking at her with an intense expression she cannot read. Her former husband looks much the same as he did weeks ago when he had come to collect Malia from the palace. Cade is markedly older in the face though these days, she notes. As if the nearly a year since their forced parting has aged him ten. His salt and pepper beard is now mostly white and it matches the close-cropped hair on his head. He's as handsome as ever, but distinguished looking now like an elder statesman. Like a man of sixty and not of fifty anymore. Cade is only five years older than Kylo, but it looks far more than that. For something of his vitality is gone. He looks terrible, all in all.

Does she look different to his eyes too? Yes, Rey figures, she must. And it's more than just the dark hair. She is dressed as her most regal Empress self tonight in an expensive dark grey gown under her stately Sith cape. Her hair is piled high and severe, and her lips painted with a slash of bold red. All this costumed posturing and makeup is the furthest thing from how Cade knew her for so many years. Most evenings, he would come home to find Rey in a t-shirt and workout pants under an apron. She'd be putting the finishing touches on dinner. The holonet would be on in the background—usually, Cade's favorite Fox First Order newsfeed. The kids would be doing homework or talking to their friends. How was your day? What's new at the shipyards? What happened at school? The chit chat was mundane. Homey and inconsequential updates, usually. And that typically meant it was a good day. Because the status quo around the Biggs household was good. And, oh Gods, how Rey suddenly misses those days.

 _Hold it together, Rey_. _Stay focused._

"How's Malia?" she asks, heedless of their audience. "Cade, is she okay?"

It's the wrong thing to ask clearly. Cade swallows hard. "I don't know. She ran away."

"Ran away?"

He meets her eyes steadily. "Malia left the third day I had her home. She sends me a message every now and then to tell me she's alright. But it's always from a different contact. Rey, I don't know where she is. All I know is that she says that she is safe."

"Oh, Cade . . . " Rey now has a sinking feeling that her daughter has rejoined her terrorist friends. Nothing good will come of that.

 _Titus will know, I bet. Rey, we'll find her._ _But this is a topic for another day_. _Get out of there!_

There is so much left unsaid between them since their parting was so abrupt. Now is their chance, it seems. Cade takes a deep breath and the conversation goes from stilted to downright raw. "I can't hate you any more, Rey. I've tried but I can't," he says in a choking voice. Seeing Cade wipe at his eyes now causes Rey's own to flood with hot tears. "Thank you for what you did for Malia. She backed up the story he told me about you coming to get her yourself."

"I will help you find her—" Rey hazards the offer. "Cade, we will find her." But he doesn't seem to hear. Cade Biggs inhales a ragged breath and regains his composure. Then he starts delivering more bad news.

"Sasha is on spice. Did Titus tell you? I don't know where she got it initially but she was far gone before her mother and I noticed. Class president and honor roll one year, and then she's hopelessly addicted to spice the next." He shoots Rey a look of bitter reproach. "All because of him . . . and you."

 _Get away from him! Rey, get out of there before this gets worse._

"When you left—"

"I didn't leave—" Rey chokes.

"Her world fell apart. In the space of a few months, she loses you and Titus and then her sister goes off to college. I guess she felt abandoned. . . " Cade is rambling now and it's very unlike him. "I really thought that it would help that her mother was back in the picture, you know? Isn't that what all kids of divorced parents want-for their parents to get back together? But Belinda . . . she's always been a bit self-absorbed and, well, she's not you. She loves the girls but she was never big on discipline and routine. And she didn't cook dinner and she doesn't nag like you do and so Sasha just sort of came and went. By the time we figured out what was going on it was t-too late, Rey. Months after you left—"

"I didn't leave!"

"One daughter is caught in a sting operation and the other is on spice."

Cade looks so resigned now. And though the breakup of their marriage was not her fault, Rey feels crushing guilt over all of this. For here is the wreckage left behind by her lies and by Kylo's actions. Here is more collateral damage from the Skywalker clan.

"The kids are a mess, Rey," Cade says and it feels like an accusation. "I saw Titus on Empire Day. The whole galaxy did. Our boy is a suicidal monster now. He has made him a monster—"

"He's not a monster!" Rey reacts strongly.

But Cade ignores this. Apparently, he's not looking for a debate. "And so that's why I am here," he concludes grimly. "That's why I'm switching sides."

Rey shakes her head. "N-No. Cade, this isn't you. You were always a loyal citizen—"

"I was!" He is shouting now. And it's one more sign that her ex-husband is at a breaking point. "I was until he came into our life! He . . . ruined . . . our . . . life!" This vehemence is so uncharacteristic that Rey is taken aback. She can count on one hand the number of times that reasonable, measured businessman Cade Biggs has raised his voice. He is a man far more prone to detached analysis than to emotional outbursts. He's not cold, he is calm. Except today.

Cade lowers his voice to a more normal tone. "I've thought about this a lot. About how over a decade of my life was a lie. All those years, you were just pretending. I thought we were happy—"

"We were happy!"

 _Don't argue with him, Rey._

"You were never my wife, you were always his!" Cade is full-on venting now. "Titus looks just like him. He acts like him now too. I guess that all those times he got in trouble at school Titus was just being himself. It wasn't my failure as a parent and it wasn't because I was gone a lot. That was just his blood showing through. His Force or whatever . . . Gods," Cade sighs and shakes his head, "I never really knew you at all, did I?"

"I wanted to tell you!" Rey sobs out loud. Tears run down her face. "But I couldn't! And the only reason he spared you was because you didn't know!"

 _Stop arguing with him! You are supposed to be on the same side._

"I really did hate you for what you did," Cade Biggs says softly. "But I have come to understand it. I know now why you wanted away from him. I can't say I blame you, Rey."

"Cade—"

"He beat you that first night, didn't he?" Cade looks away and makes a face at the memory. "His hands were dripping with your blood when he finally saw me."

This just calls to mind all those awful pictures that Kylo had kept and doctored for his own aims. "Please don't talk about it—" Rey sniffs, smearing her makeup as she wipes her eyes. All her imperious posturing has dissolved with her tears.

"And Empire Day . . . that was . . . it was . . ." Even Cade Biggs has no words.

"Please don't talk about it—"

He nods and moves on. "You look better now. Not so skinny. Not so pale. Rey, he said he would kill me if I so much as looked at you when I came to get Malia. I just wanted to get her and get out of there before he changed his mind."

"Did you get Malia into the Resistance?" Rey wants to know. "Or are you here because of her?" How precisely had the CEO of the biggest supplier to Kylo's war machine turned traitor?

"I guess I'm here for all of us, Rey. For the life and the family and the future he has cost us. I was bullied into letting you and Titus go. But after what happened to Malia and Sasha, I couldn't sit back any longer. And, frankly, I don't have much left of value to lose." The miserable man just shrugs. "It's just credits, Rey. And I have lots of credits. Credits are all I have left."

"Cade, I am so, so sorry." Rey feels intense regret. It's a hard, deep emotion that feels like it's in her bones.

"I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I ever met you. But I am also sorry for you. For the life of lies that you lead." Cade shakes his head at her, wondering aloud, "Do you even know what is truth, Rey? Are you as unstable as he says?"

"I'm not crazy!" she retorts. "Whatever he told you, he filled your head with lies!"

"You did too," Cade retorts. And Rey has no defense.

She takes a deep breath and struggles for her composure. "Cade, I can't change the past, but I can help make a better future. That's why I am here tonight. To kill Kylo Ren."

 _Okay, I like this. This might work._

Cade looks angry at her words. "The woman I was married to wouldn't have wanted to kill anyone!" he rages. "My wife baked cookies for the employee bake sale and she organized the local soccer league. She didn't have the Force and a Resistance past. She was normal. Ordinary. Nice. Never in a million years would I have dreamt that you were the runaway Empress hiding in plain sight," he complains bitterly.

"I can't run away anymore. That's why I have to help kill him. Cade, I'm doing this for Titus. To save him from the life his father wants him to lead."

 _Yes—hammer this theme, Rey. These terrorists love self-sacrifice._

"I still think of him as my boy," Cade says quietly. "Like he is mine."

 _He's not._

"Titus still calls you Dad. Did you know that? He calls Kylo his Master. Not his father."

"M-Master?"

"It's a Sith thing," she awkwardly explains.

"So," Cade glances over at the two silent Senators and now Rey recalls that they are in the room. "You are the one on the inside who is going to do this?"

"I'm going to help," she confirms. "You're giving credits, is that it?"

"I'm thinking about it," Cade hedges. "I came here for due diligence tonight. I never make investments without an investigation."

"Yes, I remember."

 _Tell him not to do it._

"Don't do it, Cade."

At this, Senator Warren interrupts. "Before we continue, I'd like an explanation please. You two clearly seem to know each other and this is far more than old family friends. What's really going on?"

At her side, Cato Stegger nods to endorse this view. "Start talking, please."

Rey turns to Cade and he nods his permission. So, she discloses, "Cade and I were married for twelve years."

"Married?" Stegger repeats.

"Yes, I wasn't in prison the whole time after the war. I was in hiding married to Cade Biggs. Go google Renata P. Biggs on the holonet. That's me, only blonde."

"You're not there anymore," Cade informs her.

"What?"

"Rey, he had you erased from the holonet. You are erased from everything. They came one afternoon and took every family photo and all of your belongings. Your clothes, your jewelry, your datapad. Even your cookbooks. The girls and I had nothing left of you when they were done. Nothing but memories." Cade looks miserable. "It was part of the settlement agreement we signed."

"Oh."

Cade remembers aloud, "Sasha couldn't handle it. It was so abrupt. The lawyers and that old man emissary of his-"

"Milo," Rey supplies the name.

"They all said I was lucky to be alive. Rey, I don't feel lucky. I don't feel lucky at all. Maybe I am supposed to call it even and walk away because he spared Malia from prison or worse, but that's not how I feel."

 _Tell him that you will be the one to kill me. Keep him uninvolved, Rey. That will keep him alive._

"I am responsible," Rey breathes out. "I will take full responsibility. Save your credits, Cade. Let me do this."

"Wait a minute-" Nita Warren speaks up.

"I will be the one to kill Kylo!" Rey now proclaims. She turns to Cade. "I don't want you further involved."

Cato Stegger shakes his head. "Rey, you can't-"

"Yes, I can! I almost pulled it off once before. I am ready to try again."

"How?" Senator Warren asks.

"Same as last time I'll get him in bed. Just he and I. One on one."

"What if you fail again?" Cato asks.

"Isn't it obvious? Then, I'll be dead." Rey nods as she ostensibly warms to the idea. "I will not ask others to take a risk I won't take myself. And I am uniquely positioned in all of this."

"So, you kill him." Nita Warren starts talking through the scenario. "If Flick and the rest of Ren's cronies consolidate power before we can make a move, then we will be at a disadvantage. We need time to plan and mobilize an army."

 _No. Tell them this happens now._

Rey shakes her head. "I'm not waiting, Senator. If I see an opportunity, I'm going to take it. Sooner is better."

"So we're just supposed to read about it on the holonet like everyone else?" she retorts.

"Yeah. Maybe," Rey admits. "I'm not waiting months or years for the Resistance to get their act together."

"What is the point in killing Ren if we can't capitalize on it?" Cato Stegger complains.

"My primary motivation is my son," Rey shoots back. "I don't want him to live under his father's influence any longer than necessary. I care more about my son than I do about democracy." And those words are very, very true. "I'm taking this risk on my own. You're not out anything, Senators. And if I fail, you can still try again."

"Alright," Nita Warren reluctantly agrees. "Just give us a signal in advance."

"Fine." Rey thinks a moment. "You will know I'm going to make my move if I am wearing a red dress."

"A red dress means Ren dies? I like it," Nita Warren has an ugly smile as she approves.

Cade Biggs is less enthusiastic. "Rey, are you sure-"

"Cade, go back to Kuat tonight," she overrides him.

 _Tell him to go back right now_.

"Go back right now. Hold your credits in reserve and wait for this to happen. In the meantime, you need to look after the girls."

"We need those credits," Nita Warren nearly growls.

Rey ignores her. "Cade, if this doesn't work, I want you as far away from Coruscant as possible. I want you completely uninvolved, do you understand? He knows our history and if I fail, he may blame you. So unless you want the girls to be orphans you need to be completely uninvolved until he's dead—"

"We need his credits," Nita Warren persists. "And we need the firepower Biggs can offer too!"

"Please, promise me, Cade," Rey fairly begs. "I need to know that at least the girls will be okay. Because if I fail, Titus is lost." Cade is looking at her now with a sorrowful expression as she half-wails, "Please protect what is left of our family by staying out of this for now."

"Okay, Rey," he concedes as the two Senators frown.

"Go! Cade, go now!" Rey wants him out of here before he changes his mind.

"Since when is she in charge?" Nita Warren complains loudly.

Rey's answer is sharp. "Since I am the one taking all the risks." She improvises now. "And since my relationship to Cade will cast suspicion on him. So if you want his deep pockets available for the future and not confiscated by the First Order, you'll get him out of here now."

"Fine. I'll walk out with you, Biggs." Senator Warren clearly wants to lobby Cade some more.

 _They are going to walk right past you. Cade knows what you look like._

 _It will be fine. He didn't notice before. Must be the beard._

Cade turns to her now, "Rey," he begins, stepping forward. She hurries into his open arms. He holds her close and Rey feels like the biggest fraud in the universe right now. For twice now, she has deceived this man. And then, it gets worse. "I forgive you, Rey," he whispers into her hair. "I want you to know that. I could never hate you." Then Cade Biggs steps back, takes one last look, and exits with Nita Warren at his side.

That just leaves Rey and Cato Stegger behind.

"This is brave of you," Cato says quietly.

"It's been a long time in coming," she nods.

"You're not doing this tonight, are you?" he worries.

"I might. I don't want to lose my nerve."

Cato now starts fishing. "What happens if you kill him? What then?"

"Then Titus and I will flee. I've done it before." She wipes at her eyes and walks back over to the windows. "I'll find another Cade Biggs somewhere, Cato. I will disappear to a normal life. It's what I have always wanted."

 _Tell him you don't want to rule an Empire. Make clear that you are no threat._

"Cato, I never wanted to be an Empress and I don't want to rule the galaxy. I just want to be free of Kylo Ren."

Stegger nods and observes softly, "Biggs is a good man."

"Yes. He is," Rey agrees. "I would be with him still if Kylo hadn't found me."

Cato raises an eyebrow now. "So is Biggs the real reason we can't be together? Because I'm sensing it was never really Kylo Ren."

Rey dodges the question. "Goodbye, Cato. We will not be meeting like this again."

"Either Ren dies and you disappear, or you die and Ren lives," Cato summarizes bluntly. "In either scenario, I'm a lonely guy."

 _Either way, it solves a problem for them. It's why he and Warren agreed to it so fast._

"Have you got any other husbands lurking around, Rey?" Cato makes an attempt at a joke. And truthfully, yes, she does. There's one standing right outside.

"Goodbye, Cato," she says gravely.

He nods. "Good luck, Rey."

* * *

"Get in. I'm driving," Kylo orders under his breath.

"Cade lives!" Rey hisses at him as soon as the speeder door shuts. "Kylo, promise me that Cade lives."

He ignores this plea. As they pull away, he's on the first of several coms. "It's Ren. We have a situation," they each begin. First, Kylo gives orders to intercept Cade Biggs once his private ship leaves Coruscant's giant spaceport. "Keep it very quiet," he instructs. "Disable the ship and tow it in. Jam all transmissions. Keep him in custody but treat him well . . . "

Rey persists. "I don't care what happens to the rest of them, but Cade lives!"

He's on another com now. There isn't time to waste discussing things just yet. "It's Ren, scramble five teams. We have some hot hostiles to bring in tonight." One by one, he makes arrangements to intercept all the Resistance conspirators Rey has discovered. All except Cato Stegger. He will deal with Stegger himself.

"Get Flick to the palace immediately," he orders. "I will meet him in the command center in ten . . ." All the while, Rey continues making half-hearted attempts to get his attention before she finally gives up. She stares in resigned silence out at Coruscant whizzing by. Listening as he summons the resources of his Empire down upon the Resistance leadership uncovered tonight.

Once the initial flurry of com calls subsides, silence descends on the cockpit of the speeder. It's a heavy, awful silence full of unspoken, fearful things. Of hurt and anger barely kept in check. Kylo glances over at Rey's averted cheek and quivering lip. Fuck. This isn't good.

"I cannot ignore this," Kylo tells Rey what she already knows.

She doesn't answer with words, she responds with tears. Great big gulping sobs bubble up from deep within. And that just hurts to watch. For Rey isn't a girl who cries much. She's far too emotionally repressed for that. But like every person who buries their feelings deep, when they surface it is in a torrent of emotion that overflows. It's a bit overwhelming, he thinks, just to watch.

Her distress makes him defensive. "We've discussed this before," Kylo reminds her. "I cannot let these people start a war. And I will not let them harm me or my family." He sounds indignant to his own ears.

In response, Rey just cries and cries. Harder now. And, fuck, this is not good.

All along, Rey has been her usual pragmatic self about the plot with Stegger, reluctant to participate but acquiescing anyway. She saw the bigger picture and wanted to protect their son. Things had been going fine until tonight when Cade Biggs had unexpectedly appeared. Biggs had shown up bearing bad news and dredging up a past that is still painfully raw. And now their ruse is potentially compromised and that is forcing his hand. Thanks to Biggs, he will have to make his move tonight to make arrests. That's frustrating because Kylo was hoping to get a few more Resistance names first. But mostly it's disheartening because of the consequences to he and Rey. Cade Biggs' reappearance just killed any chance he has at a reconciliation with Rey, Kylo knows. It is a sinking feeling. So disappointing. He has no way of knowing if Rey had been inclined to try again with him. But even if she had, no doubt this changes everything. Once again, he is the bad guy.

If he were a lesser leader, he could simply let Biggs slip away or maybe pardon him quietly for his actions as a way to buy peace with Rey. Chalking it up to the extenuating circumstances that mitigate and arguably somewhat excuse Biggs' crime. But Kylo Ren is a Sith who does what must be done. He does not hesitate and he shows no mercy. And, in truth, that is the correct course. For he is duty bound to protect his Empire and his clan. And so, once again, his chance at happiness with Rey must be sacrificed.

In this, Kylo feels like a Sith of old. Like he is choosing power over happiness, even though he keeps trying to move past those old rules. Darth Ren is a new school Sith who wants both the galaxy and the girl. Yet again, he has gotten close but he can't quite seal the deal. Fate keeps conspiring against him and now it has shaken him to his core. Because what does it mean for Rey to be his destiny if events keep occurring to keep them apart? Even if they are events of he and Rey's own making, it's just more impediments all the same. So much for his hope that investigating the Resistance would bring them together for a common cause. Kylo looks over at his strong Empress brought weak to tears tonight and he chafes at the futility of it all.

Gods, he thinks, the Skywalkers are damned when it comes to love.

It makes him feel angry, very angry. He's an emotional Sith and he's feeding off the intensity of the feelings of the woman at his side. Fuck Cade Biggs! Why did he have to show up to complicate things further? He should have killed Biggs that night he had the gall to show up here in Coruscant with Rey on his arm wearing his ring and using his name. But Biggs had been duped and it had been hard to argue his guilt. And besides, Kylo had the bright idea to have Biggs walk away. He hadn't wanted to martyr the ex-husband in Rey's eyes. And forcing Biggs to abandon his wife had seemed the more cruel revenge. Back then, Kylo had wanted to hurt Rey. It was before things had changed.

Still, the plan had gone perfectly, with Biggs bowing out and then reconciling with his original wife. Their two families long intertwined had been successfully separated but each remained intact. Biggs and his daughters with their birth mother. He and Rey with Titus. It was as happy an ending as possible under the circumstances. Except, it didn't quite work out. Fuck! He really wishes he had killed Cade Biggs.

Rey won't stop crying. And it's killing him. How he hates to see Rey cry. His girl is so tough in all things but her family, and in truth he loves her for that. But it means that the conversation tonight was the ultimate trigger. Rey is devastated, he sees. But that's not enough to make a difference to this Sith who knows his mind. Still, he starts explaining anyway.

"This isn't like the Biggs girl," Kylo warns gruffly. "It's completely different—"

Rey's response is a clipped, "I know."

"The Resistance wanted to land Biggs for more than his credits. He's CEO of the largest armament company in the galaxy. He has everything Stegger needs to start a civil war—"

"I know."

"He's no nineteen-year-old kid, Rey. He's a man long grown and used to making adult decisions—"

"I know."

"I let him go originally and then for you I even intervened to save his girl—"

"I know."

"I gave him a chance to move on with his life and this is how he repays me? Rey, this is taking it too far!"

"I know."

"He can blame me all he wants but I am not the cause of his problems—"

"I know . . . it's me. I am the cause of his problems," Rey says in a strained, choked voice.

Kylo is silent for a long moment after this admission. Rey isn't making excuses for Biggs and she's not putting up a fight. Her attitude takes away his righteousness. When Kylo next speaks, his words have far less heat. "Look, babe, I'm just arresting him. I can figure out what to do with him later on."

"I understand."

"If he cooperates and gives us information, that might help. Perhaps we can do some sort of plea deal and he can testify against the others. That could mitigate things—"

"I understand."

"I had no idea he was involved. If I knew, I would never have let you go there tonight. Rey, I wish this had not happened—"

"I said I understand!" Rey glares at him. She's angry with the universe right now. "The real issue here is Titus," she warns sharply. "We need to be concerned about Titus."

Kylo nods. Protecting his son is a big motivation for this whole ruse. "I'm glad you see it that way too—"

"No! That's not what I meant! The real problem here is Titus," she corrects. "Kylo, Titus is not going to understand about Cade."

"Well, he's going to have to," Kylo decides. And there is a lesson to be learned here for the budding young Sith. "If Titus is going to rule the galaxy someday, he's going to have to get used to hard choices. And Stegger and his friends would cheerfully murder you and Titus, whether Biggs sees it that way or not." Kylo scowls. "That might not be Cade Biggs' intention, but it would be the consequence of the original plot."

Rey doesn't argue with him. She just looks away. "We are your family all over again, aren't we?" she complains between sniffs. "Turning on one another. Trying to kill one another. It just looks a little different this time around."

"Biggs is not a Skywalker!" he growls indignantly. He's just a Force-dead business hack interloper who won't go away but should. "The Skywalkers are all on the same side," he contends hotly. At least they have that going for them this generation, Kylo thinks.

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that, Kylo," Rey says softly in a tone that has him worried.

"What do you mean?" But Kylo doesn't let her answer. He's not looking to be second guessed. "I am going to do what I have to do, Rey. No matter how much Titus whines. I'm doing it for you and for him as much as for me-"

"We need to tell him first thing tomorrow morning," she interrupts. "Before we get caught up in all that Senate convocation stuff."

"Fine."

"I don't want Titus to hear about this on the holonet."

"Yes. I agree."

She shoots him a look. "And you need to be there, too. This isn't just on me."

"Okay. We'll talk to him together." It will be good for he and Rey to show a unified front, Kylo thinks.

Rey is satisfied now. She falls silent again as she dries her tears. Kylo turns back to the task at hand, issuing more orders. In the ten minutes remaining before they return to the palace, an impromptu arrest operation is underway all over Coruscant.

As they pull up to the landing platform, he turns to Rey. "I am sorry that this happened tonight. Sorry for all of us, Rey." He had really wanted there to be a clean break between their two families, but apparently that is not to be. "I'll be in the command center if you need me," Kylo tells her as they disembark. He wants to see this operation through personally. If all goes well, it will take only a few hours to round the traitors up.

"Are you going like that?" Rey raises an eyebrow at his bodyguard disguise.

"Yeah, whatever," he shrugs. It will waste time to march to his quarters to retrieve his uniform. Besides, the beard makes the mask hot these days. "I'll come by when it's done," he promises. "We can talk some more if you want."

"Don't bother." Rey shakes her head. Then she pulls up her hood to hide her smeared makeup and walks away.

It's yet another rejection, but it's one Kylo expects. He knows how Rey gets when she is in these moods. She is the orphan girl who long ago learned to comfort herself since there was never anyone else around to do it. That's why she never wants company when she is upset. Rey truly prefers to be alone. So he will give her the space she needs. He will let Rey shut herself off. It's how she copes, he knows. Old habits die hard with all of us. And with Rey, it's always Jakku. He watches her figure disappear into the palace. He'll be there in the morning to talk to Titus like she wants. That should give her enough alone time, Kylo hopes. And, if not, he'll give her whatever she needs. He won't complain and he won't judge. Hell, he's got issues too.

Then he heads to his palace command center. He's almost there when the urge hits. It's been a long time since he's done this, but instantly he gives in. Kylo lights his sword and vents his frustration on the nearest wall. He swings again and again, the plasma blade of his saber leaving deep gouges and slashes on the melting stone. This is for the estranged wife who he despairs of ever wooing back. This is for the estranged son who will not take tomorrow's news well. This is for the happy ending that feels just out of his reach. Kylo keeps going and going until his disappointment is spent. The violence is emotionally calming and the physical effort is a form of release too. Satisfied, he steps back to extinguish his sword. Yes, he's got issues too.


	41. Chapter 41

Milo, Rey and Titus are at breakfast already when Kylo strides in. Vanee is absent, probably at work early overseeing preparations for today. Convening the Senate makes for a very busy week around the palace.

"Good morning, Master," Milo stands to greet him formally.

Kylo barely nods before he looks to Rey standing near the buffet. "Did you tell him already?"

"Tell me what?" Titus looks up. He must sense that the topic involves him.

"Not yet," Rey answers. She crosses the room to hand Kylo a cup of caf she has just poured for him. "I was waiting to do it together."

Now their son is suspicious. He looks from one parent to the other. Then, he puts down his fork and sits back in his chair. "Since when do you two do things together?" he demands. He asks in a tone of voice that old Snoke would never have tolerated in his Apprentice.

"Since we are a family," Rey answers firmly. And that statement tells Kylo that everything is alright. He had wondered after last night. Whenever Rey is unhappy, she walls herself off from others. It always leaves him guessing about how she really feels because usually all he knows is that she is upset. Women can be such a mystery sometimes, Kylo thinks. This one especially.

"Master, is there news?" Milo prompts him and now everyone is looking to him for an update.

"Yes," Kylo nods as he takes a seat and so does Rey. Kylo breaks the news like it's a military briefing. "Last night we made a series of arrests of Resistance leaders and their financial backers. We have most of the main suspects in custody already. I will do the final arrest myself today."

Now he has his son's full attention. And that tells Kylo everything he needs to know about the boy's continuing relationship to his missing terrorist sister.

"Among their many charges will be conspiracy to commit murder. The murder of our family," Kylo reveals.

"It was a plot to kill your father," Rey jumps in. "And also, Titus, to kill you."

"To kill me?" The boy blinks.

"Yes," Rey answers in a hard tone.

"Cade Biggs is one of those who we arrested last night," Kylo now delivers the punchline. Things like this are like ripping off a bacta patch, he thinks. It's best to do it fast and all at once. "Biggs had knowledge of the plot and was considering contributing funds to the Resistance."

"What the fuck?" His son shoots to his feet. Then he starts arguing vehemently, "That's a lie! Dad doesn't want to kill me!"

"He sure wants to kill me," Kylo drawls as he takes a sip of caf. "And whether Biggs knows it or not, the larger plot included taking out you and your mother too. There's no way those terrorists will ever let my son with the Force live. Or my Palpatine Empress, for that matter. They won't risk that the First Order might rally around either of you after they stage their revolution."

Titus looks stricken. He turns to Rey for confirmation. "M-Mom, is this true?"

Rey is out of her seat and at her boy's side instantly. Putting comforting arms around her son. "Yes, I'm sorry, Titus. It is true. I spoke with your father—I mean Dad—myself."

"Arrested . . . " Titus looks confused. "What does that mean exactly?"

Kylo answers matter of fact. "It means Cade Biggs will be charged with conspiracy to commit treason. He'll lose his job as Kuat CEO and he'll get a trial. Since he didn't actually give the funds and your mother convinced him to walk away, there's a plausible reason to be lenient." Kylo shrugs as he starts eating. "If Biggs cooperates, he may just go to jail."

"Dad's going to j-jail?" Titus turns horrified eyes to Rey. He's far more concerned about Cade Biggs going to jail than about the plot to kill his real father, Kylo sees. "Mom, what about Malia and Sasha? What happens to them?"

"Their mother will look after them, I suppose," Rey surmises. "Belinda and Cade are remarried now, you know."

"Titus, maybe you could tell us more about Malia Biggs." Kylo has some questions of his own now. He raises an eyebrow at his son and stares him down. "You have been talking to her, have you not?"

Titus chooses his words carefully. "I did talk to her before, yes." It's an evasion that is technically the truth.

Rey gets right to the point. "Malia is missing, Titus. Do you know where she is? Can you help us find her?"

"So he can arrest her too?" Titus scowls. "Hell, no!"

Rey presses, "We want to help her, Titus. But we need to know where she is in order to do that." Rey looks very determined now as she tells their son, "I told Dad that we would help find Malia." Kylo can sense how much Rey wants to keep that promise. It's more than just her fondness for the girl, it's also her way of making amends.

"She doesn't want your help!" the boy hollers. Then, he realizes he has incriminated himself. "It doesn't matter because I don't know where she is . . . right now . . . " He adds the qualifier to hedge the lie that still sings out to his parents in the Force.

"Fess up, kid, or I will get it out of your mind," Kylo growls. He'll do it, too. He's growing impatient with all this stonewalling. If finding the Biggs girl will make Rey feel better about this whole situation, then Kylo is prepared to do what it takes to make that happen. "Where is she?" he demands of his surly son. "If you make me read your mind, I warn you it won't be pretty—"

"Go ahead and try!" the boy blusters, taking a step toward his seated father with aggressive posture. His face is ugly and ready for a fight. "Bring it on!"

The kid is asking for it. Kylo starts to raise his left hand towards his son and summons his power. But Rey darts in between them to interrupt.

"That won't be necessary!" Rey glares over at him. "Titus, no one is going to arrest Malia. Right, Kylo?" she prompts.

He just shrugs.

"Right, Kylo?" Rey glares at him and prompts louder this time.

Kylo relents. "Kid, I'm not looking to arrest her. My men already arrested her once and your mother made me let her go. What's the point in doing that all over again?" he grumbles. "Look, your mother just wants to find her to make sure she's safe. That will probably ease Biggs' mind too. So think of it as helping Biggs."

Rey jumps in again, sounding conciliatory. "Titus, just talk to your sister. Get her to come back to the palace. I want to make sure she is alright and I want to explain about Dad. I will help Malia with no questions asked, do you understand? No one is going to arrest her if she comes in."

"That's a good offer," Kylo weighs in. "She should consider it seriously. Because when those Resistance leaders I arrested last night start to talk under interrogation, they are going to divulge all sorts of information for us to follow up on. Titus, you should expect that whatever safehouse Malia Biggs is in will be raided today or tomorrow. Best case is she'll get arrested again. Worst case is the Resistance does what it usually does and they fight to the end. That means Malia Biggs will end up dead with a blaster bolt to her head."

Titus blanches. "M-Mom?" he asks in a worried tone.

To her credit, Rey doesn't sugarcoat the truth. "Titus, this isn't worth dying over. Malia has her whole life ahead of her and she's just a kid!"

His boy looks panicked and stressed now. But the budding Sith starts to negotiate. In this, he is his mother's son. "I'll get you Malia once you release Dad," he bargains.

Kylo smirks at this bold offer. "Not gonna happen, kid. Not a chance."

"Alright, then I want to see him. I want to see Dad first!" the boy counters.

And Kylo scoffs. "Kid, I'm no fool. I won't let you bust him out."

"I want to see him!" the boy appeals to his mother. "Mom, this is Dad! He needs our help!"

And that repeated phrasing is pissing Kylo off. "Cade Biggs is the past. He means nothing to you now," he decrees, ignoring Milo's overtly warning look. "He's not your Dad, Titus," Kylo corrects. "He's a prisoner charged with treason."

"No!" the boy lashes out. "You don't get to do this! You cannot wipe out my entire past because you want to! You do not get to pretend like Dad and my sisters do not exist!"

"I am trying to help your sister," Rey grinds out with another glare Kylo's direction.

But he doubles down on his point. "Kid, I have spent my entire life trying to escape the past. Trying to build something new. You will need to do the same. Let the past die, kid. It's some of the best advice my Master ever gave me."

"You're not helping!" Rey hisses at him to shut up. Then she turns to their son. "This is a bad situation I created and I want to keep it from getting worse. Now, your father—I mean Dad-"

"Cade Biggs," Kylo corrects sourly.

"Can come through this alive and with minimal punishment if he cooperates. And if your sister comes here to the palace she can avoid arrest or . . . er . . . worse. But all of this depends on everyone cooperating—"

"Why?" Titus challenges Rey. "Why can't he just make all the trouble all disappear?" His boy shoots Kylo a cold look. "He does things like that, you know. What's the point of power if you don't use it for what you want?" the boy asks, showing every bit of his childishness.

"Titus," Rey says in a very serious tone. "Your sister was caught in a terror sting and Cade was part of a group conspiring to overthrow the Empire by murdering us all. Your father cannot overlook that—"

Damn right he cannot. Kylo's face darkens as he informs his future Apprentice, "We Sith are leaders. And with leadership comes responsibility, Titus. I exist for two purposes: I rule the galaxy and I continue our family and the Force. Those are my duties and I will not shirk them for sentiment! Certainly not for Cade Biggs," he declares. "Now, you will help us to help the Biggs family and then you will sever your ties forever with them. We will go our separate ways." Like Kylo has intended all along.

"But they are my family!" the boy wails.

"Not anymore," Kylo informs him. "Listen well, son, because today and moments like it are what it means to be us. Sacrifice is part of being a Skywalker." It's best to learn that lesson young, Kylo thinks.

"Listen to the Master," Milo now offers up softly. "Those are wise words he says."

"Mom?" Titus turns to Rey. "Do something! Say something! He always eventually gives in to you—"

And henpecked husband is not exactly a depiction Sith Master Darth Ren likes. Luckily, Rey sidesteps the issue and refuses to take the bait. "Titus, help us get Malia here safely. I promise no one will arrest her," Rey says calmly. "Then, we'll see about whether all three of us can go visit Dad."

"I can't do that, Mom," Titus now confesses unhappily. "She won't come. Malia hates you . . . she really hates you . . . just like she hates the Master . . . and that was before he arrested Dad . . ."

"Malia h-hates m-me?" Rey repeats.

"Yes."

Rey visibly stiffens at this confirmation. Kylo watches her blink and swallow as she absorbs the blow. Kylo has seen Rey take a physical hit a time or two and she looked far less shaken than she does now. "I guess I can understand that," Rey says slowly. She's looking down now. "Maybe I deserve that too. Last night your father—"

"Cade Biggs," he corrects again.

"Told me that he had hated me for a little while too." Rey lifts miserable eyes to their son. "I am at fault in this, Titus. I am mostly to blame, although your father contributed to this situation too. But we did not cause Dad to make this stupid decision. Any more than we caused Malia to do the same."

"You both set them up for it! And don't pretend this isn't mostly his fault!" Titus calls out Kylo and thrusts an accusing finger his direction. "This never would have happened if it wasn't for him! We would still be a normal family together on Kuat, Mom. No Force, no Empire, no balance, no holonet press, no drama . . . " The boy's voice trails off and he looks like he might cry. "I miss those days," he chokes. "I really miss them."

"Oh, Titus," Rey steps forward and attempts to take him in her arms again. But the boy steps away and rebuffs her with a cold look. And now, Kylo is getting angry and he too is on his feet. For how dare that kid treat his mother this way? And after all that Rey has done to protect him?

"Titus—" he begins sternly.

But Rey waves him off. "Titus, we are not normal people. We will never be a normal family with normal problems," Rey concedes. "And we can never go back to the way we were on Kuat." She looks over to meet Kylo's eyes and it's a moment of solidarity for how far they have come. Rey gets it now. She really gets it. "Titus, the longer we stayed hidden, the worse things might have become," Rey says ruefully. "And then we might have had even more conflict."

"You cannot escape your destiny," Sith Master Kylo now sagely intones.

Rey nods her agreement. "Your father is right."

"I hate this family!" the boy explodes on his mother. "And since when are you on his side?" Titus scowls up at Kylo. "Fuck destiny! I will make my own future one day. Just you wait and see."

"Titus!" Rey reacts.

And the boy whirls on her again. "When did you get on his side, Mom? Why suddenly is everything he says okay?"

Rey takes a deep breath. "Titus, I'm not on his side, I'm on our side. If we do not stick together, then this family will fall apart. And then all that has happened will be in vain. All this suffering that your father and I have caused to reunite this family will have no purpose."

And Rey has hit on something there, Kylo thinks. That's exactly how he had felt about ending the war years ago. There comes a point when you have gone too far to turn back. When your investment in time, blood, sweat, and tears is too much to let go. You just have to dig deep and see it through to the end.

"Yeah?" the boy jeers. "So what if this family falls apart? I hate this family!"

Rey looks like she might cry now. And that is enough, Kylo thinks. "Titus—" he warns.

But again, Rey waves him off. She will be the one to vent her anger, it seems. Her chest is heaving and her voice hoarse. "You have no idea what it means to live without a family, Titus. You have no idea how lucky you are," she rasps. And, so help him, if the kid makes Rey cry, he is getting lightning for sure.

"I don't want this family!" Titus whines. "I want our old family back!"

And that's blasphemy as far as Kylo is concerned. "This family endures!" he booms. "Through war, through secrets, through separation, through murder. Come what may, the Skywalkers continue." He gives his son a cold, angry look. "You are part of this family, kid. Whether you like it or not!"

"I hate this family!"

Kylo is just itching to shoot the boy with lightning now, but he tamps down his anger to keep control. Zapping the kid will only upset Rey more. So he tells Titus to suck it up. "Kid, I'll tell you what my Master told me during the war: no one ever said it was going to be easy."

"None of this is easy," the boy gripes.

And it's a fair comment under the circumstances. But this comment too gets under Rey's skin. Her eyes narrow on their little Sith princeling. "You have no idea how privileged you are!" she hisses. "And how extraordinary your life is. You want for nothing! Never once have you gone without! You don't know the meaning of suffering!" His Jakku Empress' voice drips with scorn. She has everyone's full attention now. "All those lies to Cade Biggs were for you, Titus! To protect you and to give you every advantage credits could buy. So you would be raised with all the benefits of wealth and power and none of the burdens of being a Skywalker. I got away with it for as long as I could . . . I should have known it wouldn't last forever."

"Mom—"

Rey isn't finished. "Without those lies, I would have been a struggling single mother living on some Rim world in hiding with no family, no credentials, and no safety net. You'd be lucky if you got more than a few years of school and you'd probably already be working by now too. So, yes! I made a mistake. But I did it for all the right reasons. I'm just sorry that it has hurt so many people. Titus, I can't make things right with your sisters and Dad, but I can at least try and help them now. So I need you to convince Malia to come here."

Kylo has never seen Rey lose her temper with Titus before. Clearly, it's a testament to how stressed and frustrated she is. "Listen to your mother—"

"Since when are you two on the same side?" the boy complains again.

"Since we both want what is best for you!" Rey snaps. "Titus, there comes a time in life that you have to make peace with your situation. When you have to accept things you cannot change and move on."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I want to move on, Titus. There is no going back to the way things were on Kuat. We are not the Biggs family anymore." Rey sighs and takes a deep breath before she continues. She sounds somewhat calmer now. "I want to help Malia and Cade and then we will go our separate ways. We are headed in two different directions now as it is. There is no reconciling us."

"I still don't see why he can't just release Dad and make this go away," Titus gripes. "Is any of this even real, or did he make it up? Is this just an excuse to put Dad in prison? Because I can't believe that Dad would ever want to kill anyone—"

"Dad and the others plotted to kill your father!" Rey overrides him. "Think about that a moment, Titus. Who's going to teach you the Force if not him? Because it won't be me—you can't seem to connect with the Light. And once your father is gone and there is a power struggle in the First Order, you won't be studying in the library of this palace anymore. You'll be on the run in hiding with me. The Resistance will want us dead and so will whoever takes over the First Order if it isn't Nestor Flick. And then, there will be another civil war to follow and we'll be everyone's enemy. Titus, it will be you and me in exile like Master Yoda and Master Luke and Master Kenobi were. Like Darth Plagueis lived in the Unknown Regions in secret for years."

Kylo can see that Rey's words are hitting home. The scenario she describes is very plausible and the boy knows it.

"Titus, we're not making this up," Rey says with utter seriousness. "The plot to kill us was real. Your father was not arrested on a pretext."

Now, Kylo jumps in with some more plain talk. "Your mother and I are prepared to help the Biggs girl if she comes in. So tell her that and give her the chance to make the decision herself. If she decides no and wants to take her chances with the Resistance or on her own, then that's her decision. But she gets only this one chance." She's already had one too many chances in Kylo's mind as it is. "After today, we wash our hands of that girl. Do you understand?"

Titus eyes his angry father before he sighs, "Yes, Master."

"Good." Now Kylo changes the topic. He gestures to the sidearm the boy is wearing. "Is that blaster fully charged, kid? You need to be armed. Especially now."

"It's charged."

"Good. Here." Kylo reaches into his surcoat to produce a lightsaber. He tosses it to Titus. "That is not a training sword, kid. Be careful with it."

Titus turns the antique weapon over in his hands. "Are you serious?" he asks in a slightly awed tone.

Rey looks alarmed. "Kylo, are you sure he can handle this?"

"Yes." His answer is firm. Jedi Padawans used to wield a real sword at age ten and he himself had one at thirteen, so he sees no reason Titus can't have one now. The kid knows all the basics and in time and with practice he will be really good. "Wear it. Use it, if you have to," he instructs his son. "Kid, you were as much a target in that terror plot as I was. You need to protect yourself."

"Alright," the boy agrees. Then he lights the sword. "It's green," he complains as he immediately extinguishes it. "Whose was this anyway?"

"It belonged to Luke Skywalker," Kylo answers. "Fully grown, he was about the height you are now."

"Really?" his boy is unimpressed. "I don't want a fucking Jedi sword," he gripes. "Master, no one even bled this crystal."

"The crystal matters less than the size, and the size is right. My uncle was not a tall man but he was a giant in the Force, kid." With a glance towards old Milo, Kylo reminds everyone, "He killed my Master with that sword."

"May the Force be with him," Milo says gravely.

"Yes," Rey quietly agrees.

"But it's a Light Side Jedi sword! I want a red blade!" the boy whines. And while the kid turns thirteen in two days, he might as well be age four with that petulant attitude, Kylo thinks.

"It's a Skywalker sword," he growls back. "When my uncle entered a room with that sword, Sith had a tendency to die. You might give that blade some respect, kid. Skywalker toppled an Empire with it. Besides, a red sword doesn't make you a Sith. Darth Vader attacked the Jedi temple with his blue sword. I used a blue sword when I did the same."

"Shouldn't you give this to Mom?" Titus suggests. "Skywalker was her Master once, right?"

"Keep it," Rey tells their son. "Titus, we want you to be safe. There is a real threat. You should be proud that your father thinks you are ready to carry a sword," she cajoles the boy. "Now, come on. Let's get you to school. We can talk more on the way," Rey suggests.

"No, thanks. I'll go by myself. Tagg lets me drive." Titus grabs his backpack and stuffs in the sword. "You always hog the controls, Mom."

"But . . . oh, okay," Rey backs down, probably deciding to pick her battles. "Tagg is going to have to pick you up today," she reminds Titus. "I've got all the Senate Convocation stuff with Aunt Cesi all day."

"Tell Tagg not to bother," Titus grumbles as he exits the room. "I'll find my way home."

"Buzz my com if you hear from Malia," Rey calls after him, sounding hopeful. But the boy stalks on without reply.

As the door slides shut behind him, Rey sinks down heavily into the nearest chair. "That could have gone better," she bemoans. Her expression is tired and woebegone. She looks like she didn't sleep much last night.

"You are far more tolerant with the young Master than Darth Plagueis was with you," Milo observes to Kylo.

And to another parent, that might be considered a compliment, but Kylo feels dissed. And, yeah, it's true that old Snoke had prized discipline. He would have zapped Titus good and hard today for his disrespect. But Kylo has a reason for his forbearance—he's a Sith, so he always has a reason. "I don't need that ticked off kid deciding to run away and join the Resistance with Malia Biggs."

"Surely, he wouldn't dare." Milo looks outraged at the very suggestion.

Rey agrees. "Titus isn't political. His anger is personal," she points out.

"Yeah?" Kylo gripes. "Well, that's how it started with Malia Biggs."

Rey shakes her head. "You heard him about the sword. Titus is not looking to restore the Republic and reform the Jedi Order. He's just looking for someone convenient to blame for the situation and that's you," she tells Kylo. Rey is glum now. "I really worry for him as he gets older, Kylo. All that power and all those hormones. Geez, I can't believe he's a teenager already . . . "

"Traditionally, the Sith taught discipline," Milo makes another not-so-subtle hint. "A Master put limitations on their Apprentice."

Yes, Kylo knows firsthand. And while Sith discipline was harsh, the Jedi had their own tradition of self-discipline that young Ben Solo had once learned long ago. If there was one thing the two Force traditions agreed upon, it was that undisciplined, unfocused power was dangerous. Still, Kylo makes a face. "I just don't want to push him further away." He wants his kid to like him and respect him. Is that too much to ask? Emperor Ren can ignore the haters on the holonet, but it's hard to avoid the hater who is his own kid across the table at breakfast. "We will get past this issue with the Biggs family," he punts the issue. "And then we can reassess."

"Is the person you will personally arrest today Cato Stegger?" Rey now asks.

Kylo smirks. "Was that a lucky guess?"

"When are you doing it?"

He looks her in the eye. "Rey, it's not an arrest."

"I know." She takes a deep breath and hardens her expression. "Kylo, I want to be there. I feel as though I should be there."

"It's fine if you are, but you don't have to be."

"I want to," Rey says grimly. "I will see this through."

"Fine." Kylo nods thoughtfully a moment before he tells Rey to go change her dress and meet him in his office.

Two hours later, Kylo is cooling his heels waiting for the Senate swearing-in ceremony to begin. As usual, it will have much pomp and circumstance. The First Order has always prided itself on pageantry and with Cessily Flick and Vanee running the show, standards are high. The dozen or so new Senators file first into his throne room with the current Senate leadership following behind. All will publicly swear fealty to him today. Also in attendance are numerous dignitaries and generals, ambassadors and business moguls. This ceremony, along with all the schmoozing lobbyist receptions that accompany the opening of the new Senate term, are the reason that Kuat Driveyards CEO Cade Biggs had been in Coruscant. It's also the perfect setting for the spectacle Kylo is about to perform.

With this many VIPs present, the red robed praetorian guards are out in full force. They line the perimeter of the cavernous room where Rey conspicuously awaits seated on his throne. Rey is not in her customary white Empress gown today. Instead, she wears a red dress. Red for the blood Kylo plans to spill today. Red as the sign that Rey will make her move. It just won't be what Cato Stegger expects.

When enough time has passed to create sufficient anticipation, Kylo in his full regalia suddenly appears at the back of the room. He strides swiftly through the center aisle with his cape sweeping behind. All in attendance haul themselves to their feet and then drop to their knees. All except Rey who remains seated and nods gravely at his approach.

"My dear Empress," Kylo drawls his greeting with a charm that would have both impressed and surprised old Snoke. He offers Rey his hand. She rises gracefully and cedes her seat to him, moving to stand behind his right shoulder. Kylo likes her hovering there like a good angel ready to whisper in his ear, posed literally as the power behind the throne. With a lazy wave, Emperor Ren bids his esteemed guests to rise and sit. Then, the ceremony begins.

One by one, the newly elected Senators are announced. Each kneels to recite the oath of office. Kylo listens and then curtly responds, "Senator, go in peace to serve the Empire." Next, the Senate leadership renew their oaths. It starts with Chancellor Flick as proud Lady Flick looks on. "Arise, old friend," Kylo greets his second in command personally. He even steps down to shake the Chancellor's hand. They are the former First and Second Knights of Ren, the friends who won the galaxy together, and they are still all these years later the good cop and bad cop of the regime. This is the only subordinate for whom Kylo ever shows any public affection, and that is by design. The message is clear: the Emperor and his Chancellor are a team. Next comes the Majority Leader, an efficient, tidy man who is the titular head of the First Order party. In a nod to supposed democracy, the Emperor and his unelected Chancellor are ostensibly without party affiliation. But everyone knows that to be a lie.

Finally, the Minority Leader, Coruscant's own Cato Stegger, steps forward to make his pledge.

 _I, Cato Stegger of Coruscant, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend Emperor Ren and the Constitution of the Galactic Empire against all enemies; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of Senator of the Galactic Empire._

This time Kylo doesn't answer as expected. Instead, he orders, "Say it again."

Stegger repeats the oath. The Senator is nervous now and that makes Kylo smile behind his mask. Emperor Ren now leans forward in his chair. This is where the fun begins.

"Yesterday, Senator, my Empress told you that I know a lie when I hear it. That is true." Kylo watches with much satisfaction as Stegger's eyes dart warily towards Rey. "My wife too has the Force and she also knows a lie when she hears one. Tell me, my dear," Kylo looks up at Rey. "Is he lying?"

"He lies," Rey confirms.

"Yes, I agree."

And now, Kylo does something he never does before a semipublic group like this, even in his palace. He removes his helmet. Plunking the heavy headgear down hard on the arm of his throne. Kylo waits a moment to give the assembly, but most of all Cato Stegger, a good, long look at him.

"Y-You!" It takes only a brief moment before Stegger makes the connection. And now the Senator is scrambling to his feet. "You bitch!" he snarls at Rey. "You set me up!"

Rey says nothing. She just nods.

Kylo smirks. "How foolish of you to trust her. Or rather, how desperate of you, I should say." Emperor Ren now stands to his feet. He stalks down the dais, intent on his prey. "Such amateurs you were! Stegger, if you are the best the Resistance can find, then I feel very confident indeed." Kylo calls his sword to his hand to ignite instantly. As it activates, he senses a frisson of excitement pass through the room. Today's swearing-in ceremony has just become an execution. It's an impromptu Empire Day.

"You are not the first of my enemies to attempt to use my wife to kill me," Kylo observes. "Luke Skywalker once did the same. Only the tables were turned and the Jedi was the one to die. You, Senator, should have learned from his mistake." Kylo raises his left hand now to beckon to his Empress. Rey dutifully steps down to stand by his side. They hold hands before the assembly and the fearful, angry Senator they jointly confront.

Kylo glances approvingly over at Rey. "Some might say that my wife is a treacherous woman, for she has been known to oppose me in the past. But I value her judgement and her opinions. She tells me things others fear to say. And on the fundamental things that truly matter, the Empress and I completely agree." Kylo is feeling very smug as he sizes up his cornered foe. "Stegger, you were most unwise to attempt to enlist her to your revolution."

He motions to his guards. "Bring them in." And now the other co-conspirators are paraded into the room in handcuffs, along with the hapless Cade Biggs. Kylo watches Cato Stegger's face harden as he realizes that the entire Resistance leadership has been discovered. "Here are just a few of your traitor friends," Kylo sneers. "But we will have the rest soon enough."

"You bitch!" Stegger snarls again at Rey. His face is dark with rage as he accuses, "You have betrayed us all!"

"Yes," Kylo answers calmly. "My Empress does things like that. She has a remarkable talent for self-preservation, but loyalty has never been her strong suit."

And is Rey looking at Biggs? Yes, Kylo sees her glance over briefly. But then her attention is back on Stegger. Good, she's staying focused like he wants. Kylo squeezes Rey's hand to encourage her before he lets go and stalks forward to address the prisoners.

He walks down their line slowly to eye them one by one, his sword lit and buzzing in the silent room. "I will tolerate respectful dissenting opinions," he begins, "but I will not tolerate treason and I will not let you start another war. So long as the Sith rule the galaxy," he vows, "we shall have peace!" He gives the prisoners a long contemptuous look. "Your plots have been uncovered. They will be made public during a trial. Some of you," he glances over at Cade Biggs, "are more guilty than others. Your punishments will reflect that fact. All except you, Senator Stegger. You do not merit a trial."

Kylo approaches closer to the angry Senator who is still glaring at Rey. The Sith twirls his sword showily as he begins to leisurely circle his prey. This moment has been a long time in coming, and Kylo wants to savor it. He's going to drag this out and give the elite of his regime a good show. Plus, Kylo doesn't get nearly enough violence these days. And it's like sex-the lead up is everything to the big finish. So he will take his time.

Kylo's voice is angry as he reveals, "Like the rest, you plotted to kill my family. Not just me, but my child and my wife. But you took it one step farther, Stegger. You tried to seduce the Empress." Kylo curls his lip. "You aim high. Very high, Senator."

Rey is flushing to the roots of her hair. But Stegger holds his chin up and his gaze is defiant still. Yes, this is excellent political theatre. Kylo is thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Better men than you have tried the same," Kylo jeers, thinking of Armitage Hux. "Of course, you did not get very far. My wife is no fool."

"You can't win!" the disgraced Senator interrupts. He knows by now that he has nothing to lose. "Others will take our places! There are plenty of brave men and women prepared to stand up to your tyranny!"

"I am not a tyrant!" Kylo is indignant at this label. He resents being called the bad guy by this seducer traitor scum. "My regime is fully prepared to listen to those willing to work within the system for reform. In the coming months, the Senate will achieve much that you terrorists would approve of. The Starkiller is just the beginning-I am prepared to do it all. The detainees, election reforms, civil liberties and more," Kylo lists off the chief rallying cries of his opposition. "I will make the galaxy great again as we move beyond this cycle of war. And the only blood shed for this progress will be yours here today, Stegger."

"When the galaxy learns that you have constructed another Death Star, you will be exposed for the liar that you are!" his foe hollers back. "Ren, you are in flagrant violation of our constitution!"

Kylo smirks. "There is no new Death Star."

"You can deny it, but we have proof!" Stegger hollers.

"You don't have proof," Kylo hisses back. "You have a lie the Empress gave you to believe. Those transmissions you intercepted are an elaborate ruse. And you took the bait."

The Senator pales and looks to Rey. "Is that true?"

"Yes," she answers simply.

Kylo smirks. Then he shrugs. "I have never been a fan of superweapons, Senator. Rey, tell him why."

The whole room turns its eyes on his stone-faced Empress. "Kylo has ties to Alderaan," she says quietly.

And that's too vague of an answer for him, so Kylo crows good and loud, "I am the Crown Prince of Alderaan. Heir to a lost world the Empire made extinct with the first Death Star." Removing his helmet today is just the first of the mysteries Kylo plans to reveal. He will have everyone talking for days about this confrontation. It's all by design, of course. Soon everyone will know that the Empress isn't the only one with ties to the Resistance.

"But Leia Organa was the last Princess of Alderaan—" Stegger objects.

"Yes." Kylo can't quite contain his gleeful smile as he reveals, "General Leia Organa was my mother."

"Y-your m-mother?" the Senator's face betrays the same shock that causes murmurs of dismay to emanate from the crowd.

"Yes," Kylo purrs. "General Leia Organa was my mother. I am a child of the Rebellion. I trained as a Jedi with Luke Skywalker in the New Republic before I fought as a Sith for Leader Snoke with the First Order. Senator, just like my wife, I have been on every side of every conflict during my lifetime. I was raised on two things: the Force and war." Kylo lets this point sink in a moment before he continues. "I have learned the most important lesson of conflict: that wars are easy to start and hard to end. I killed millions to bring peace and order to the galaxy and you and your band of fanatics will not make their sacrifices in vain. So long as I rule the galaxy, we shall have peace," the Sith decrees again.

"Y-Your mother was General Organa of the Resistance?" The Senator is still processing this big reveal. "But that means you killed—"

"Yes. Senator, I do what must be done to achieve my goals. Even if that includes fighting my own family." Kylo keeps pacing a slow circle. "We Skywalkers are ruthless. The only thing you really need to know is that in the end, we always win. Dark or Light, Jedi or Sith," Kylo warns, "in the end a Skywalker always wins. And no one who plots to end the Skywalker family gets off lightly."

"You're the Jedi Killer," Stegger references Kylo's favorite nickname, "but you're the Jedi Skywalker's . . . n-nephew?" Stegger hazards a guess as he pieces the family tree together.

"Yes," Kylo is smug. "Only now, at the end, do you understand."

"I don't understand any of this," Cato Stegger breathes out. It's an honest admission. And judging by the perplexed faces of the crowd, he's not the only one lost in the tangled Skywalker mess.

"Then understand this," Rey speaks up. She is trembling as she steps forward. But thanks to her old Jakku bluster, his Empress holds her ground. "I will not let you harm my family. I will not let you start a war." She turns now to Kylo and with a cold detachment worthy of her great grandfather, she decrees, "Enough talk, kill him. Kill him now."

"As you wish."

With that, Kylo stabs his sword clear through Cato Stegger's chest. There is a collective gasp from the crowd. His victim is too stunned and wounded to cry out. He just trembles and gurgles for a few seconds before he fades away. Then Kylo deactivates his sword and the Senator's lifeless body slumps to the ground.

There are many reasons why Kylo has chosen to make this execution so public, but in truth today is foremost about personal revenge. Looking down at the corpse at his feet, the Sith in him is well satisfied. This is for Stegger kissing his wife more in the past few weeks than Kylo has been able to do in almost a year. This is for dragging Cade Biggs back into their lives and further confusing his troubled young son. This is for threatening his family and risking the balance of the Force and the peace of the galaxy. This is for pitting wife against husband and son against father in a way that makes Kylo nervous about the past. If he has to, Kylo vows, he will slaughter all of their enemies to keep his little family safe and intact. For they are the Skywalkers and they are the last, best hope for the future of us all.

Beside him, Rey is not squeamish. You can't be squeamish and scavenge in wrecks on Jakku. She looks hard and resigned and also like she approves. He and Rey may be allied in little else, but where Cato Stegger is concerned they are of one mind.

"Thus ends another enemy of the state," Kylo intones the traditional words that follow his executions on Empire Day. He gestures dismissively to the body of the fallen Senator as he announces in ringing tones, "Extremism has no place in my Empire. All who oppose progress through violent means will suffer this man's fate."

"May the Force be with him," Rey now mutters a more gentle eulogy at his side.

Kylo casts his eyes about the crowd. At the many people who stare in silent, morbid fascination. These faces are the leaders within his Empire. They are the stalwarts of his government, the commanders of his army, and the invisible hands that direct his galactic economy. This ceremony isn't being broadcast live on the holonet but it might as well be, Kylo knows. The press will be all over this in minutes. It's just the lead up he needs to give tomorrow's Starkiller announcement maximum effect.

He has taken Nestor's advice to delay an entire news cycle between the events of today and the Starkiller announcement. He will let the arrest of the Resistance terrorists sink in with the public before his regime formally apologizes for Hosnia. The Rim hardliners will cheer Stegger's demise and applaud the dissident crackdown. The Core lefties who are alarmed by it will get their 'I'm sorry' soon enough. The ringleader Senator is executed to make First Order loyalists happy, while the others will get due process of law from Darth Ren the Just. There is something here for everyone to like and to find fault with. And as far as Kylo is concerned, that makes it a good compromise.

This will be his strategy going forward—a little to please and a little to upset everyone. After the Starkiller, it's on to education reform and release of the records for missing detainees. He will combine feel-good concessions with real progress each time. And slowly over the course of the next three-year Senate term, Kylo plans to remake his Empire. A little less harsh and a little more fair, less secretive with more transparency and predictability, more centrist and less dictatorial. Overall, more Light and less Dark. Just like he is hoping for himself.

And it is for this reason that Kylo now proclaims, "Change is coming." It is a promise to some and a warning to others. "In the coming days, the Chancellor will roll out new reforms. Some of you will like them, some of you will not. You may debate them, you may seek to revise them, you may even oppose them, but you may not prevent them." For nothing, the Sith vows, will stand in his way. Not Cato Stegger and his Resistance zealots and not the hardline, true fascist First Order types from the Outer Rim.

"My goal has always been to make a safe and secure society. To bring peace, freedom, justice and security to the galaxy. The old Empire couldn't do that and neither could the New Republic. They were both flawed in the end. And so, we will take the best of both institutions and adopt them for our own." The future of his Empire is an amalgamation that lies somewhere in the middle, Kylo thinks. It's just like the Force. For both the truth of the Dark and the truth of the Light are valuable. And so the future of the Force going forward will be a bit Jedi and a bit Sith. And, hopefully, that combination will yield balance in the end. Ever the optimist, Kylo now summarizes his fervent wish: "We will learn from the past but not repeat its mistakes."

For the Force and for his Empire, Kylo will preserve the best of the past and leave the rest behind. If there is a lesson here, he thinks, it is flexibility. That nothing is sacrosanct and incremental change can be good. And hopefully, his moderation will prevent yet another civil war caused by revolution. For generations now, the galaxy has experienced one public whiplash after another as it veered from the disordered inefficiency of democracy to the stifling singlemindedness of autocracy time and again. The violent extremes of the Resistance are matched by the oppressive extremes of the First Order. Neither approach is sustainable, if history is any judge.

Sustainability matters. Years into his reign, when all the easy fixes have been made and it's the harder, more fundamental inequalities and problems that remain, Kylo Ren is more concerned than ever that his New Empire be built to last. Darth Ren long ago accepted that he will not be the true Chosen One to bring balance to the Force. But he still intends to bring lasting peace to the galaxy. And that is a balance of sorts, he thinks.

None of this would have been possible without the woman at his side. Glancing over at his Empress, Kylo wonders whether Rey appreciates what a catalyst for change she has become. Both for him personally and for his galaxy. None of this would have been thinkable before his lady of the Light had resurfaced a year ago along with his secret son.

Kylo takes one last long look at the Resistance prisoners who are spared his sword today. His gaze lingers especially long on the handcuffed Cade Biggs. Damn, he hates how this has turned out for Rey and Titus. But he could care less about Biggs. "Take them away."

Then he turns back to Rey. "Come, my dear," Kylo beckons her forward. "Our work here is done." Stepping over Cato Stegger's body, Kylo takes Rey's hand and together they sweep from the room.

Is she looking back at Biggs? No, she is not. She's eyes straight, facing front, walking out with him hand in hand. Good girl, he thinks. Leave the past behind. Time to move forward. It's the message he plans to give the galaxy tomorrow with the Starkiller apology and it's the main message for his leaders assembled here today. Bygones are never bygones, he knows. People may forgive but they rarely forget. And perhaps that's a good thing, all in all. For if we are ever going to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, we must be mindful of them in the present.

When he and Rey are finally outside the doors of his giant throne room and in the relative privacy of just a dozen guards, Kylo abruptly halts. Rey stops short too, briefly colliding and then sagging into him. Her head leans up against his shoulder as his arm snakes around her, half holding her up. She is weary and stressed as emotion rolls off her in the Force. And here come the tears he remembers from last night.

"We are agents of change," Kylo tells Rey quietly as he pulls her quaking form into a tight hug. "Progress has its price," he repeats a favorite saying of Snoke.

"As long as that price is not Titus, I'll be fine," she whispers. And he believes her. For few are more resilient than this woman, no matter the extremes of hardship and danger that life sends her way. He wishes his young son had her presence of mind and her coping skills. But, unfortunately, in temperament his kid is all him. That boy is a Skywalker through and through.

"Have you heard from Titus yet?" he asks as he strokes her hair and lets her soak the front of his surcoat.

"He's not answering his com," she sniffs.

That figures. The boy is habitually irresponsible and distant. "Let me know when you hear from him."

Rey nods and pulls back to wipe at her eyes. The flood of tears ends as quickly as it had begun. No one can repress emotion quite like this woman, he thinks. "I need to go fix my face and change my dress," she tells him stoically. With that brief breakdown, she's back to being focused on the tasks at hand. "I have a luncheon and three afternoon receptions before the big dinner tonight."

Yes, he knows. Vanee and Lady Flick want the Empress front and center at all the social events this week. "You don't have to attend, if you don't want to," Kylo offers. Maybe she needs more time alone.

Rey shakes her head. "I need to do something, Kylo. I can't sit in my room and worry about Malia," she replies. "Plus, this is my job now. This is who I am." Rey makes an awkward attempt at a smile. "I'm the Empress of the galaxy."

"And the last Jedi, the keeper of the Light, and the controversial reformer wife of Kylo Ren," he finishes softly.

"You forgot mother to Titus." That's chiefly how she thinks of herself, Kylo knows.

"Mother to Titus and teacher of the Chosen One," he amends at her prompting. And then he embellishes, "Woman of mystery, soccer mom extraordinaire, pancake cook, excellent mechanic, good swordsman but lousy shot with a blaster, cheap date and belligerent drunk . . . am I leaving anything out?"

"Jakku scavenger," she mutters. "You forgot Jakku."

No, he hadn't. He knows how much it is a part of her identity. Does she know she is so much more than Jakku? But Kylo dutifully replies, "Desert princess" to make her happy.

"Are you coming to this dinner tonight?" she asks him.

"No. I'll come by and see you afterwards. Let me know if you hear from Titus before then."


	42. Chapter 42

Being stuck waiting for news is a frustrating, pensive situation. The fate of Malia Biggs is foremost in Rey's mind all day long, overtaking thoughts of the fight with Titus at breakfast and the gory public execution of Cato Stegger that followed. Kylo, of course, knows that she is concerned about her erstwhile daughter. Throughout the day he keeps checking in.

 _Have you heard from Titus?_

 _No, but he's still at school._

 _No, he's not. He ducked past security at the south gate an hour ago. He's probably in my library._

 _Kylo, he's got to stop skipping school. I hate that he is skipping school._

 _Agreed. That kid thinks he can do whatever he wants. When this issue with Biggs is done, I'm cracking down. Milo is right, Rey. It's for his own good._

A few hours later comes another message from Kylo.

 _Most of the operations are complete now. So far, we haven't picked up anyone meeting the description of Malia Biggs. She hasn't been identified in any of the casualties either._

 _Titus just told me that he has contacted her. She's not coming here, but she is safe._

 _What else did he say?_

 _It was a text. I didn't see him in person. I'm stuck at all these parties today, remember? This one is wrapping up and then I'll see him before the dinner. I'm skipping the cocktail hour._

 _Tell him to talk that girl in before she gets killed_.

When Rey finally catches up with Titus, he looks stressed and doesn't say much. He is focused on convincing his sister, telling Rey that he is doing his best. She's really upset, Mom, Titus says over and over again. She's not just mad about the lies any longer. She's mad that you betrayed the Resistance and Dad to Kylo Ren. It all rings true in the Force.

Rey spends a few fruitless minutes trying to explain the Stegger plot and Cade's roll in it to Titus. But the boy doesn't listen. Titus pretty much stopped listening this morning when he heard the news of Cade Biggs' arrest. Can she at least speak with Malia, Rey asks. Titus discourages this, telling her to give him more time and not to worry because Malia is safe. That strategy seems reasonable, so Rey backs off. Leaving Titus to watch pod racing with Vanee. If you need me, I'm at the Senate Convocation dinner. Titus, please find me if you want to talk. I'm fine, comes his curt reply.

Hours later, the elaborate dinner is over and Rey is back in the private quarters of the palace. When she goes in search of Titus, he has already gone to bed. And that's not surprising. All this stress is exhausting. Today has been a long day that started rough, got worse, and then dragged on. Rey has fought with her son, watched a man die, and stood at back to back parties making small talk as she pretended that everything was fine. It's not fine. It won't be fine until Malia Biggs is found, Sasha Biggs is in a treatment center, and Cade Biggs has some form of acceptable resolution for his crime. But none of that will get resolved today, Rey knows. So this will drag on.

Marching into her rooms, Rey starts stripping off the trappings of the day. Off comes the jewelry and the shoes and the fancy white Empress dress. She slips into a nightgown and robe and now she feels better but she is still upset. Rey begins pacing as she yanks out pins to take down her hair. Today's fancy dinner had required a more elaborate than usual coiffure.

The screen on her bedroom wall is tuned to the holonet news. It's blaring the shocking headlines from today. Kylo's family secrets revealed have conspiracy theorists run amok and most legitimate journalists openly floored. The tangled history of the Skywalker clan now dominates the news cycle with equally lurid coverage of the Resistance arrests and Cato Stegger's execution.

 _Palace sources confirmed today that Emperor Ren is the son of the late Resistance General Leia Organa. Organa was the adopted Princess of Alderaan and a controversial political figure in her day. She is best known as a founder and Senator of the New Republic and a Rebellion hero who later led the Resistance. She was killed at the Battle of Crait. Organa and her husband, the Rebellion General, space racer, and rumored spice smuggler Han Solo, had a teenaged son Ben Skywalker Organa Solo believed to have been killed decades ago in an attack on the New Republic Jedi Temple. Now, it turns out that the young Jedi trainee Ben Solo survived the attack to become Emperor Kylo Ren . . ._

A lot of the reporting focuses on the complicated Skywalker family tree. Leia Organa was long rumored to be the natural daughter of Darth Vader, and she was known to be the twin brother of the Jedi Luke Skywalker as well. That the Sith lord Darth Vader had once been the Jedi Clone Wars hero Anakin Skywalker is public knowledge as well. But no one had known of the connection to Kylo Ren. It fuels a lot of speculation.

 _Does Emperor Ren wear the mask and cape to honor his grandfather? Or did he adopt the mask years ago to hide his ties to the New Republic, the Resistance, and the Jedi? Eyewitnesses present at today's unprecedented speech say that the Emperor removed his mask. They report that Kylo Ren has a slight scar on his face but it is not so severe as to be disfiguring. In fact, the Emperor is said to strongly resemble his young son . . ._

Violent footage of Titus from Empire Day now plays and replays. It revives all the comparisons of father and son. In fact, Empire Day makes a lot more sense now that the family context is understood. Rey's pleas that Titus is a Skywalker are revealed to be true. And Rey's arrest, imprisonment, and ultimate pardon are given new context.

 _Unconfirmed sources within the palace tell us that the Empress was caught between the two warring sides of the Skywalker family, having been lured to the Resistance by Luke Skywalker himself. Those extenuating circumstances, probably together with the Empress' eventual pregnancy, are the reason why she was spared a traitor's death and instead spent years in prison . . ._

Now, the Empress wanting to be a Jedi doesn't seem so threatening since both Darth Vader and Darth Ren had each joined the mysterious cult. No one really understands the Force anyway-it's considered to be an outdated hokey religion by the predominantly secular galaxy. Probably a lot of simple tricks and nonsense in most people's minds. And what does it mean that the Emperor switched sides in the Force and in the war? Some say it means he knows the motivations of everyone. Others argue it means that he, like his mysterious wife, has no real loyalty to either side. Or maybe it's just one more way in which Kylo Ren's path in life resembles his fearsome grandfather, another Jedi who long ago turned Sith to found an Empire.

The terror plot arrests and Senator Stegger's dramatic execution provoke both cheers and outrage. Opinions reflect the usual political fault lines. Cato Stegger receives heartfelt political eulogies from news commentators on Core worlds. There, the young Senator is remembered as a champion for civil liberties and a courageous voice for reform. The official First Order newsfeed tells a slightly different tale. For on the Rim and other loyalist worlds, Cato Stegger is considered to be a Resistance zealot, a man who had plotted assassination in hopes of restarting the war. The identities of Stegger's co-conspirators are splashed across the holonet. No one is much surprised by names like Senator Nita Warren, but the arrest of the Kuat CEO and the regional First Order governor are big news. All in all, it is a breathless media frenzy that doesn't surprise Rey. But it worries her for Titus and for Malia and Sasha Biggs.

All of the hair pins are out now and Rey's fancy hairdo is taken down. She stops pacing to plop on her bed with a hairbrush. Setting to work brushing it through. That's when a shadow fills her open doorway.

Rey looks up. "Oh, hello," she sighs over at Kylo before resuming her efforts with the brush.

"How did it go?" Kylo lounges in the doorway with his arms crossed. Tonight, he's wearing the traditional hooded robe instead of his uniform. It makes him look every inch a Sith. This attire usually means that Kylo has been brooding in his office or communing with his grandfather's mask. Doing whatever a prince of Darkness does in the Force.

"It was fine." Her answer is a bit testy as Rey takes another brisk swipe at her hair. "There was lots of speculation on who will replace Stegger and Warren in the Senate."

"I'm appointing temporary people to those seats in advance of a special election here and on Chandrila," he answers. "Party loyalists, of course." She sees Kylo's eyes flit briefly to the holonet screen on the wall. "Are you watching this?" When Rey shakes her head no, he waves a hand and turns it off.

"Thanks." She is grateful for the gesture. Maybe quieting the media noise will help to quiet her mind. "I guess the press has the gist of it all other than the family connection to Snoke," she sighs.

Kylo nods. "I would have revealed that too if he weren't a Muun. No will understand being born from the Force." And he's right, she knows. As it is, today's revelations were hard to swallow. Kylo changes the subject now. "That's pretty," he observes with an appreciative eye on her white lacy peignoir. "Is it new?"

"Cesi talked me into it," Rey nods. "It's from some fashion designer lady she owes a favor to. The designer is starting a lingerie line and Cesi is drumming up patronage for it." Rey shrugs as she admits, "Where Cesi and fashion are concerned, it's usually best to do as you are told."

"Well, I like it," he smiles. Then Kylo gets a strange expression as he watches Rey brush out her hair. "I remember my mother doing that when I was young," he confides softly. "My mother had very long hair. Longer than yours."

"I remember."

"It was never the plan to kill her, you know," Kylo says almost offhand. "Snoke had a 'capture only' order on Leia Organa for years with explicit instructions that she was not to be harmed."

"Really?" Rey is surprised. But maybe she shouldn't be. For old Snoke had long revered his clan.

"Milo told me that years ago Snoke had wanted my mother to be his sixth wife. That the plan was to lure my uncle home and marry my mother."

"But wasn't she his granddaughter?" Rey recoils.

"There was no blood relation," Kylo reminds her. "The connection was in the Force."

"But still . . ."

The Sith grins at her scruples. "It wouldn't have mattered to Snoke. He coveted her power. Rey, Leia Organa had plenty of Force even though she never formally trained." Kylo thinks for a moment. "I see now that she was afraid of her abilities. My mother always said that she was too busy with the New Republic and that she wanted to make her contribution in other ways. But I think she was mostly afraid of the Force within her . . . of the things it might lead her to do."

"Snoke probably thought that was a waste."

"Of course. Darth Plagueis would have made my mother learn the Force." Kylo gives a wry smile. "Things would have been very different had she and Snoke both lived."

Rey nods as she thinks a moment about the 'what ifs' and 'might have beens.' "She and Snoke might have been us now, I guess." Rey puts the hairbrush down. Now that they are talking seriously, she has something she wants ask. "Why did you tell everyone about our family?" That had surprised her this morning.

Kylo looks her in the eye. "Because trust begins with truth."

"But you're a Sith. Aren't you supposed to deceive and manipulate?"

"Yes. But I don't lie." Kylo says this as if it makes perfect sense. And in his mind, she knows it does. "In order to implement my reforms, I need to gain the trust of the governed. Maybe not the far left liberals, but the center would help."

"Moving towards the middle means you will get hit from both sides now," Rey observes.

"You sound like Nestor." Kylo chuckles before he explains, "My Chancellor is actually fairly concerned. But I'm betting that the majority of the galaxy is center-right in its political allegiance. And that if we loosen up and show some transparency, we will earn the people's support."

Rey looks over at Kylo's quirky-handsome face. It's usually hidden by a helmet, and lately by his beard. "Does transparency mean that you're going to lose the mask?" she wonders aloud.

He raises an eyebrow. "Do you think I should?"

"I've always hated that helmet. You know that."

"But it's part of my schtick," he protests with a smirk. "And it's so old school Sith. Maybe I should give it to Titus," he muses.

And that sets her off. "Don't you dare!"

His quick grin betrays that he is teasing her. And now again, Kylo changes the topic. "Is there any news from the Biggs girl?"

Rey sighs and kind of deflates. "Just what I told you earlier—Titus is trying to convince her to come in." She looks away as she confesses, "Maybe it is for the best that Malia hates me, Kylo. Maybe that will make it easier in the end."

He nods his understanding. "We cannot keep ties to that family. For so many reasons—"

Rey cuts him off, "Yes, I know." She takes a deep breath as she faces facts. "Not with Cade and Malia mixed up with the Resistance . . ."

"I'm sorry that all this has happened," Kylo says softly. The Force tells her that he is very sincere.

She doesn't meet his eyes as she bemoans, "I'm sorry too." Then her eyes flood with tears. "Today has been a long day . . . "

He takes the hint. "Goodnight, Rey."

"Goodnight."

Then, he is gone.

Rey blinks back the tears and drags her thoughts away from the Biggs family. There's no point in ruminating further about that. Rey goes back to the comparatively safe topic of obsessing over Kylo Ren. Long ago, Rey ran away from being an Empress and from being a Sith's forever wife. But here she is, years later and despite all that has happened, right back where she was and then some. Kylo hasn't once pressured her about the future. In fact, Kylo hasn't brought it up since that night they went to the park. But Rey has been thinking about it . . . a lot. Because the panicked decision you make as an inexperienced young girl at twenty is not the reasoned decision you make as an adult mother at thirty-five. In some ways, Rey is less concerned with the consequences of what happens if she and Kylo try again and it falls apart. The harder question seems to be what happens if they try again and everything goes right?

Rey knows now that love doesn't mean that things are always happy. Love doesn't mean that there will be no shouting and no tears. Love doesn't conquer all and it won't make everything alright. But it will make things better. It's taken a while for Rey to understand that love is not a commitment to be perfect, it's a commitment to be present. To be important in someone's life.

And forever doesn't scare Rey now the way it had before. Because now she loves her son and her son is permanent. Whatever happens to either of them, Rey will never quit being Titus' mom. She has stood by Titus through arguments and disappointments, through school expulsions and playground brawls. She's been annoyed, exhausted, frustrated and angry, and that's not all. But she still loves him and always will. Because she is committed to Titus forever and she wouldn't have it any other way. Some relationships in life are optional: you can divorce a spouse, quit a job, or stop being someone's friend. But you are never not someone's parent. Family is forever, ugly warts and all.

And if you are married to a Skywalker and raising the Chosen One, there is more than the usual crap to deal with. There are terror plots, basement cells, missing hands, civil wars, the Force, and more. In some ways, Rey muses, forever might be the least of her worries. For the women in Kylo's clan never seem to make it to old age. History has not been kind to the Skywalker brides and mothers. Happy endings are in short supply. But strangely enough, having a permanent relationship is more appealing now after the abrupt rupture of Rey's marriage and family with Cade Biggs. You can erase a paper marriage with more paper, but a pledge in the moonlight with a hand slash is something harder to deny.

Creepy old Darth Plagueis used to say that there is no salvation from the Sith. That the will of the Force always prevails. Rey now knows that is true. For try as she might, she did not succeed in fleeing Kylo Ren. And more importantly, she's given up struggling to do so. For there is nothing to be gained by separating Kylo and Titus, the Master and Apprentice of their generation and the continuation of the Chosen Ones. And, quite simply, Rey is going nowhere without her son.

Still, it's more than Titus that has brought her and Kylo back to amicable terms. Kylo has been trying in his own way and so has she. The Sith is right, she knows—they could make it work if they wanted to. The question now is whether she should? Kylo was her first love and Rey wonders if he is her only romantic love. Have they each been fighting against the very thing that will make them both happy? Is that why the universe conspires to keep them from being just friends?

Maybe she is settling. Perhaps she is worn down by the situation and being guilted into it by her son. Kylo is the farthest thing from nice guy Cade Biggs and he'll never be an easygoing, patient dad. But if she is settling, then so is Kylo. For Rey knows that she far is from perfect and at least objectively Emperor Ren can do a lot better than a scavenger from Jakku. All their past conflict once led her to hurt him badly, and he in turn has hurt her back. And now, she and Kylo together have hurt others—chiefly, Titus and the Biggs family. But Rey appreciates more and more that the conflicts they face from the outside are far more threatening than the conflicts existing between them behind closed doors. If she and Kylo do not stand together, then others will attempt what Cato Stegger had to exploit their divisions for their own aims. Maybe with her again or, she fears, with Titus. And then it will be Skywalker against Skywalker once more with the usual calamitous results. Rey wants better than that for her family.

She has grown tired of the 'we-they' culture that permeates the galaxy and even her own home now that Titus wonders aloud whose side she is on. Rey meant what she told her son this morning—she wants them all to be on the same side. And those bonds should be real and more than just a unified front. Bridging differences and past hurts is hard and Rey won't lie-she holds a grudge. But she wants today what she has always wanted-a stable, loving family to call her own. And this man, the father of her child, is her last, best hope for that dream. Because let's face it, it's not like Kylo is ever going to let her find someone else. And truthfully, most men pale in comparison to the sarcastic, moody, ever-dangerous Sith. He set out to win the galaxy and the price was the blood of billions and their love. Years later now, he is trying to make amends on all fronts. And that both surprises and impresses Rey. It makes her feel that she should help him as the last remaining keeper of the Light.

So . . . should she reconcile with the man who wants to reconcile the galaxy? After much soul-searching, her answer is yes.

Rey glances over at the open door between their suites. Should tonight be the night? Virgin Rey had enthusiastically hopped into bed on a star destroyer years ago, whereas older, wiser Rey keeps Kylo mostly at arm's length. She is wife to Kylo in all things but love and sex, and those are the usual things that keep a marriage together. Plus, with a Sith, there is her Light . . .

Slowly, Rey shrugs out of the outer lace robe of her Cesi-approved peignoir. Shedding yards of obscuring fabric to reveal the flimsy, filmy negligee below. With all the conflict that rages around them and her role in today's execution, Rey is hungry for some harmony of her own. Tonight, she decides, peacemaking for the Skywalkers will start at home.

So Rey summons her courage and wanders next door. She and Kylo both drop in on one another from time to time, like earlier tonight. It's not her presence in itself that is unusual. It's the white negligee she's wearing in lieu of sweatpants that makes it different. Very different.

Kylo is wandering around his bedroom with his datapad and com in hand. He's barefoot and shirtless in sleep pants as he leaves a long voicemail of instructions for some underling. When the voicemail is done, he busies himself with some more typing on his datapad. "Gimme just a minute to finish this," he tells Rey without looking up. Because, of course, Kylo knows in the Force that she is here. When finally he glances up from the datapad, he does a double take and blinks. Then he tosses the datapad and com down.

She has his full attention. Or, rather, her lack of clothing does.

"Rey." He looks her up and down.

"Kylo," she answers softly. And, ugh! What now? This making the first move thing is harder than it looks. Rey smooths nervous hands on the fabric of her nightgown, feeling her face grow hot.

"You're not here to watch the holonet."

"No."

Rey takes a deep breath. "I'm here to be your Light." Did she really say that out loud? Her face is surely beet red by now.

Kylo nods, then asks, "Why?" The ever logical Sith appears wary now as he requests an explanation. For this is the older, wiser Kylo Ren. The man who has been burned more than once before. The younger Kylo would have crossed the ten paces between them in an instant and taken her in his arms. Then they both would have been swept away in the moment. Kylo was always impetuous where she was concerned. But not so any longer, Rey knows. And with good reason.

Why? Rey knows why. "Because I want to give you the Light. To help you be less Dark. Like I will help to make your Empire less Dark. And maybe it will help us all find balance . . . "

He digests this answer and nods slowly. "Is that all?"

"This is for Titus," she gulps hard, suddenly fearing for the first time that she will be turned down. It had never occurred to Rey that she might be turned down. "I want us to be as close to a regular family as possible. I want us to be parents committed to each other as well as to our son." Kylo is looking at her with an inscrutable expression on his face. Is he pleased? Disappointed? She's not sure. And now she is rambling a bit. "After all Titus has been through, I want him to see a healthy relationship with trust and respect. So that someday when he is grown he will want that for himself."

"So this is for the Force and for Titus?" he clarifies quietly.

She nods. "Yes."

"And what about you?"

"Me?" she squeaks out of nervousness.

"Yes. You."

Rey glances over at the open door now. She's half tempted to flee back to the safety of her room. But Kylo is waiting silently and she has to say something . . . anything. In all their time together, Kylo has always been the one to do the emoting and to make the declarations so this is way out of Rey's comfort zone. She's not big on feelings generally. And she's even less enthusiastic about talking about them. But here goes.

"I don't want to be alone," Rey confesses, embarrassed by this honesty. "It's not good for me to be alone." She thinks of the marks on the wall in the cell downstairs. "It's not enough to live as a family like we do now. I n-need more than that . . . "

"I know."

"We c-can't be friends, Kylo."

"I know."

"And—"

"Yes?"

He's not making this easy on her. Kylo is looking at her like she's dangerous. And this stilted back and forth feels like they are negotiating rather than going to bed. It's the farthest thing from romance. Has the spark of their passion finally burnt out from long neglect? Is this what is left of them now? Young love grown old and cold from mutual hurt and years apart? Or maybe this attempt at friends has reduced them to mere roommates after all? Rey looks down in confused, anxious disappointment.

Now is the time to confess that she wants him. To declare that he is ridiculously hot still at forty-five. And sure, it's his tall, leanly muscled physique, but it's also his white toothed cocky smile. And sometimes it's just the laughing look in his eyes without the grin. It's also Kylo's grim, brooding commitment to duty mixed with his arrogant optimism that he will prevail. It's his angular, long face that will never be classically handsome and Rey wouldn't want it that way. He's not a pretty man and he doesn't do pretty things, but there is a strange nobility to his purpose all the same. For though his means might be highly suspect, Kylo Ren's intentions are always good.

He fought against the family he reveres to conquer the galaxy. He is the war criminal who only wants to be loved. He has been Light and he has been Dark and he lauds them both but prizes his elusive balance most of all. This prince of Alderaan chose an orphan desert scavenger for his Empress. The head of the First Order chose the reluctant Resistance girl. None of it makes sense, but it all has an explanation. And that too is very him. Yes, this Sith has Dark charisma in spades and it is magnified by his contradictions. From their very first meeting, Rey was drawn in. Years later, it's still the same. But Rey doesn't quite know how to put all this into words.

Apparently, it's time for the grand gesture. Standing here naked in a Cesi Flick approved, nearly sheer negligee is not temptation enough. But Kylo Ren is no ordinary man, so sex is not sufficient allure. Rey thinks for a moment and then adds power now to sweeten the deal. With a deep breath, she folds her legs beneath her and sinks down into a puddle of silk. Her head is bowed and her hair streaming forward. "Darth Ren," she begins and then quickly amends, "My Master." Another deep breath. "I have wronged you-"

"Do not kneel to me-" he interrupts, reaching down to intercept her hands. When she doesn't immediately rise, he opts to join her on the floor. And now they are both on their knees.

"I have wronged you-" she struggles to begin again before she loses her nerve.

He squeezes her hands. "Rey, we have wronged each other. And we have both suffered for it."

"Others have suffered too," she thinks of Titus and the Biggs family. "Kylo, forgive me the past. I want to move forward." She's trembling now as she comes out with it. "If you still w-want me . . . then I w-want to try again."

He nods. His face as serious as it has ever been. "Will you forgive me too?" he asks.

She nods, not really trusting herself to speak.

Kylo dark eyes burn with intensity. It's almost hypnotic, for she dares not look away. "Rey," he breathes out. "I know that you don't love me. I can accept that—really, I can. All I ask is that you try to love me again."

"I will."

He nods at her sincerity. "Then I don't need any promises other than your commitment tonight."

"C-Commitment?" Rey gulps. What commitment? She had traipsed in here thinking they would move on to a new friends-with-benefits phase. But, as usual, the demanding Sith wants more. Sex wasn't sufficient inducement and now apparently, it's not enough consideration for a deal.

"Yes." Kylo's voice is quiet but commanding. "Commit to me. Here. Now. We can make it official in the temple later. But we will both be all-in to make this work. We will leave ourselves no room for failure."

"The temple?" Rey's eyes grow huge at the implication.

"Yes. Please, Rey, plight me your troth. Marry me now."

"Marriage?" she blinks at him. "You mean a Sith marriage? Now?"

He answers with a solemn age-old vow. "Rey of Jakku, last of the Jedi, Princess of the Sith, Empress of the galaxy, mother of our child." He pauses for a breath and now stares deeply in her eyes, giving his words extra weight in the Force. "I will be your passion. I will give you strength. And together, we will gain power and victory."

All around them, the Force is swirling in anticipation. Rey can almost feel the possibilities, as if destiny is poised to rearrange itself depending on how she responds. It's exciting and scary. Well, everything about this commitment is terrifying. But Rey has come to accept that she and Kylo are each other's future, for better or for worse. And so for their sake and for Titus, she will make this oath. And if it balances the Force and prevents another galactic civil war, then that's good too. But this is mostly about her and her family. This choice is personal and it is not a sacrifice.

Kylo is looking at her expectantly as she haltingly begins. "Kylo Ren, Sith Master . . . Emperor of the galaxy . . . and father of my child, I . . ."

"I will be your passion," he prompts her.

"I will be your passion."

"I will give you strength."

"I will give you strength."

"And together, we will gain power and victory."

Rey inhales a deep breath. "And together, we will gain power and victory."

Darth Ren is not only the groom, but in the tradition of secret Sith marriages he is the Dark priest officiant too. So now, he pronounces them husband and wife. "The Force has brought us together, the Force will bind us, and the Force will set us free." Kylo smiles approvingly at her. He is well satisfied, she sees. "Now no one can put us asunder, Lady Ren. We are joined together forever in the Force."

"F-forever," she repeats shakily. For who knew that the Sith who is no longer impulsive about sex would be impulsive about marriage? Or is it that Kylo sees this as ratifying the inevitable, like she? Rey had come in here to sleep with the Sith but now, suddenly, they are married for real. And it's so casual for such an important moment. There has been no lead up, no fancy dress, no hand slash, and no ring. It is a strange, impromptu turn of events but in a way, it has also been a long time in coming. And maybe, Rey thinks, it was long overdue. "Forever," she says now with more conviction.

"Forever," Kylo confirms with a smile. "Forever I will care for you and protect you, Rey. And you will do the same for me. Our union is loyal and lasting, sealed by the Force."

The commitment they have made must be what Kylo was waiting to hear. He stands and offers a hand down to raise her. Then he pulls her closer with a smoldering look. "It's time to kiss the bride."

* * *

The Force is with him. This he knows for certain.

Kylo hadn't known what to think when Rey had wandered in dressed to seduce but wearing an expression like she was marching to her own execution. But when his beautiful girl fell to her knees at his feet to beg forgiveness, he recognized this moment as a fantasy he has had before. But what Kylo had thought to be a favorite daydream he now sees was a fleeting premonition in the Force. And that makes him wonder whether his other favorite scenario of Rey straddling him on his throne will come true. He certainly hopes so.

For as fate would have it, he's going to get his happily ever after with Rey after all. It is years deferred and far more complicated than he could ever have envisioned, but it is real. And it fills Kylo with hope for the future. That's one of the things people don't tell you about commitment-how truly empowering it is. It is everything to know that someone has your back and will be there until the end no matter how the end looks. It makes challenges seem more doable and struggles seem easier too. He's a Sith trained by tradition to deceive and to betray and that is why he knows the value of loyalty. And the trust evidenced tonight by Rey's leap of faith touches him. On paper and in the history books, they are an old married couple. But finally, at long last, Rey has affirmatively chosen him. And suddenly, they are Sith married forever. Just like that.

Standing before him, Rey trembles with nervous excitement. Her eyes are wide and a little fearful, but trusting. It's almost like she is a virgin or as if this is their first time together. And truthfully, that's how special this feels to him too.

Kylo runs his fingers appreciatively over the exposed skin of her arm, watching her slight shiver in response. He has wanted this for so long but he forces himself to start slow. He begins by simply luxuriating in the very realness of her. For this is no late-night fantasy alone in bed with Rey asleep next door. This is real, she is here, and she is his wife. And so, he is in no hurry. This won't be like that furtive coupling downstairs that he regrets. Tonight, he will take his time as they consummate forever.

Rey is looking up at him expectantly with lips parted. It is an open invitation for a kiss that he accepts. And now her arms snake up around his neck and their bodies press closer as she tugs him down. From the very beginning, they have had this magnetic physical chemistry. It's part of why it was foolhardy to suppose they might be just friends.

One deep, hungry kiss follows another. This is the prelude to Kylo jumping headlong into her mind. They have done this mental connection a few times during the plot with Stegger and so Rey no longer fears the intrusion. It's not quite so effortless as their old days on the _Finalizer_ , but it will be soon, he vows. No other woman can share this special intimacy with him. For in all the galaxy, only Rey is his peer.

With their minds joined together, he feels what she feels, she knows what he knows. It makes sex a mental and physical union combined. Now Rey shares his fast-rising passion caused by so much pent up desire. And Kylo senses her mix of anticipation and trepidation. Rey being Rey, she's fixated on their marriage commitment and not the wedding night sex. On the forever and not the immediate pleasure of now. But soon she's all in for his passion. Rey can't get enough of his soft lips and slow hands. And that's all Kylo needs to know. The honeymoon starts now.

Soon Rey is panting and hot under his touch. Meeting him kiss for kiss and urging him on. So he reaches down to hike up her negligee and to feel the heat that waits for him underneath. Rey is impatient with the barrier between them, so she steps back to gather up the fabric and off it comes. And now all of his furiously blushing wife is exposed for his attentions.

"You're so beautiful," he breathes out. Everything about Rey is beautiful tonight—her body, her commitment, her forgiveness, and her Force. She is the mother of his son, the Light in his world, and his only peer in the galaxy. It's an amazing, humbling combination in one woman. It's why he has loved her for years.

All around them the Force is swirling with near frantic eddies and flows. Sith Master Kylo Ren knows this mental sensation and the imminent change that it foretells. This disturbance in the Force is a signal that destiny is achieved, that something has ended and another thing begun. And that is satisfying, oh so satisfying. For that's how meaningful what they do together is. They are Skywalkers so the personal is always political, and there are layers of meaning to all that they do. And what they do here tonight is blessed by the Force. Of that, Darth Ren is sure.

Somewhere in the netherworld of the cosmos old Darth Plagueis sees them and grins. And lonely Darth Vader bereft of his own love cheers on this second chance. Does Darth Sidious approve? Is a Sith Emperor good enough for his granddaughter once removed? And would Leia Organa want them to be happy? It's hard to tell, but Kylo is fairly certain that old Luke Skywalker's Force ghost is aghast.

Kylo leads Rey by the hand to his bed. It's their bed now, he thinks. Without breaking their kiss, he lays her back, following her down to cover her body with his own. When he pulls back, Rey's dark hair is splayed across the pillow and her lips swollen from his persistent kiss. She looks up at him and smiles. And that's when Kylo gets to work. If there's one thing all his young beauties through the years have forced him to learn, it's how to please a woman when you can't read her mind. Once his fingers and lips start exploring, Rey throws her head back, arches and moans.

"Yes," he purrs, enjoying the sight of her erotic abandon. "Jedi, give yourself to the Dark Side." She needs this, Kylo knows. It's been many months since that night in the cell. And he himself is more than ready since he had sworn off his Snoke girls weeks ago.

"Kyyylooo," she slurs out his name. In her mind he sees what Rey is too embarrassed to ask for explicitly. Instead, she breathes out, "More."

"Now who's the Sith?" he teases as he climbs atop her and positions himself. But he can't stop from toying with her some more. He wants to hear her beg again. Just to know how much she wants him thrills him deep inside.

Rey complies, although it's more of a command than a request this time. "More."

"As you wish," he whispers. Then he leans forward to capture her lips for a kiss as he rams himself home. And, oh Gods, this is such pleasure. She is snug and warm and sweet. Rey revels in it all as she lays back to let him ravish her. His mind in hers, his body thrusting hard and deep. This coupling feels so dominant, so Dark Side, so Sith. Still, "I love you" keeps slipping out between gasps and kisses. The words leak from his lips like a sieve. For tonight he will give as well as take.

There is no love like a Sith's love, no passion like that of a Dark lord of the Force. These men feel nothing halfway because their emotions fuel their power. And so, they may rule the galaxy but they in turn are ruled themselves. Forever, they are slaves to their hearts. They are obsessive, possessive, and aggressive men. Vulnerable to their core, and greedy-oh so needy-for love. It is always a risk to kiss a Sith. But it tempts doom to marry one. And knowing this, his commitment shy Rey still has taken the plunge.

And though she surrenders her Light to his Darkness, it is he who is humbled. Overcome in the moment of ultimate pleasure by her corona burst of blinding power. As Jedi and Sith mate together as one, the balance long prophesized is theirs. If only for a brief, fleeting moment of joy. Tonight is long overdue absolution for Darth Ren's many sins, but especially those against this woman herself. She forgives his trespasses even as he forgives her own. It's a second chance and a fresh start.

"Rey, I will always love you," he pants out in the aftermath. Kylo has his forehead pressed to hers, his eyes closed. "Now and forever, I am your Sith."

"I . . . I . . ." she falters.

"Shhhh . . . " He rescues her from needing to say more. For Kylo sees it in her mind and that is enough. She loves him. It's complicated and messy, but it's true.

Rey loves him. She truly loves him. And that is everything he has ever wanted. Plus, they are finally married, the assassination plot is foiled, and their family is safe. Tomorrow the Senate reconvenes to pass the Starkiller resolution and the First Order announces new comprehensive plans for reform. He and Rey are allied together and the galaxy too is poised on a path towards greater unity and peace. This is perfect, Kylo thinks as Rey snuggles deep into his side. Just perfect.

She raises her head now to brush wild hair from her eyes. "This doesn't mean I'm going to like everything you do." He can hear the smile in her voice.

He chuckles and drawls, "I knew this was too good to be true." But then, he is serious. "I have only ever wanted you for an equal, Rey. So by all means, keep telling me what you think." He'd be disappointed if she didn't. Emperor Ren has plenty of yes-men. He doesn't need one for a wife.

"I want us to tell Titus together," Rey decides. "And not when we are rushed at breakfast. When the time is right." Rey warms to this theme. "I want Titus to understand that you can be angry and disappointed in someone and still reconcile. That you can love someone and not like everything they do. I worry about all that Sith vengeance he reads in your books. Kylo, I don't want our son to think that violence and hate are the answer to every problem."

It's a fair point, but not the most pressing issue currently. "You should worry less about my library and more about the influence of the Biggs girl and her revolutionary ideas," Kylo responds. "I want that girl found for all our sakes."

"Titus is not political," Rey reminds him. "And if he were, he would side with the First Order, right? With the Empire founded by his Sith father to reclaim what his Sith family started years ago."

Kylo is noncommittal. "I don't know, Rey. We shall see. I'm giving him another day to find her and then I'm stepping in."

"Yes," Rey concedes with a sigh, "that's probably for the best." He's stroking her back now as she muses aloud, "Vanee and Milo are going to be ecstatic when we tell them."

Yes, he knows. Where he and Rey are concerned, Vanee and Milo are like two meddling old maiden aunts. "I rather doubt that they will be surprised."

"Old Snoke would have loved this," Rey says softly. "Kylo, he'd be very proud of what you are trying to do."

"I hope so." Mostly, he wishes that old Darth Plagueis were around to train Titus. His old Master would know what to do. Kylo can't shake the feeling that he is screwing up raising the next Chosen One. But he pushes that thought from his mind as he reaches down to fondle his bride. He drops a kiss on her forehead and offers, "What do you say, wife? Are you ready for round two?"


	43. Chapter 43

The next morning at breakfast, Kylo heeds Rey's request to defer telling Titus about their marriage. But Vanee and Milo must guess that something is up when he and Rey walk in together. That never happens. Plus, in something of a surprise, Rey is sporting the kyber crystal ring he had bought for her years ago. The ring's eye-popping size and distinctive colors make it hard to miss. But if Titus notices, he doesn't let on. In fact, the kid seems very jumpy and preoccupied.

"Any news from the Biggs girl?" Kylo asks between bites.

"Malia," the boy shoots him a dirty look. "Her name is Malia. And you know that."

"Well?" Kylo asks again impatiently. "How is Malia?"

"Worried about Dad," the boy retorts. "I can't believe that you arrested our Dad. Only you do shit like that-"

Beside him Rey bristles and across the table Milo raises an eyebrow. But Kylo doesn't take the bait. He's not anxious to repeat yesterday's heated argument and he's in a good mood since he woke up next to Rey. He's feeling forgiving, so he decides to let the stressed-out kid blow off some steam.

"Cade Biggs is guilty," he simply responds. "Ask your mother."

"If he's guilty, then I am too!" the boy declares. "Because I want to kill you too!" Then the kid springs up from the table, grabs his backpack, and storms from the room.

For a good ten seconds no one says anything. Then Rey speaks up. "Kylo, he doesn't really mean that."

Milo disagrees. "It certainly looked like he did."

Kylo shrugs. "Aren't kids his age supposed to hate their parents? I sure hated mine. It's normal. Normal for this family at least."

Two hours later, he, Rey, Nestor, a large clutch of Senators, and at least another hundred people are cooling their heels in his throne room. Soon, Nestor will publicly announce the Senate Starkiller resolution broadcast live on the holonet. Kylo will look on from behind the podium seated on his throne with Rey at his shoulder. The audience before them is seated in two sections. To his right sits a collection of bereft family members from the Starkiller along with his current military top brass. To his left sits a large group of Hosnian survivors who were off-world on Starkiller Day. Kylo girds himself for a morning of sappy speeches followed by a collective cryfest. It's a good thing that when they are on air, he'll be wearing his mask. That way no one will see how bored he becomes.

But before they can begin, there is a technical issue to be resolved. The delay annoys Kylo who keeps tapping his mask in his lap impatiently. But it especially annoys his Chancellor. "Why is tech support never helpful?" Nestor grumbles. "What's taking so long? Can't someone just hit reboot?"

"If this lasts more than another five minutes, I'm sending Rey over there to fix it," Kylo gripes. At the mention of her name, Kylo looks over at his Empress standing down the dais chatting with some of the Hosnia refugees. Kylo is still riding the high of the afterglow from last night. How beautiful Rey looks this morning, he thinks, even though she was up all night. It is very satisfying for him to know that now Rey is more than just his Empress. At long last, she is truly his wife.

Kylo is openly admiring his bride when he feels a ripple of premonition through the Force. Seconds later his son strides into the room. That pesky terrorist so-called sister is at his side. Predictably, the pair are looking grim.

"Well, look who's here," Kylo drawls over at Rey who is deep in conversation.

She whirls at the sound of his voice and then follows his eyes to the door. "Oh!" Rey's face lights up as she breathes out, "She's safe . . . " The relief in her words shows plainly on her face.

Then with a deep breath and a wave of his arms, Titus summons the Force. All of the Imperial guards—and there are at least twelve of them in the room—collapse to the floor simultaneously. The stormtroopers standing in pairs at the exits drop as well. With a quick mental count, Kylo realizes that his son has just taken out twenty men in all.

A ripple of fear goes through the assembled audience and all of the military brass in attendance immediately stand to their feet. At his side, Nestor Flick instantly produces a blaster.

"Titus?" Rey blinks in confusion at her son. "What's going on?"

"I will handle this," Kylo takes charge. He marches down the dais and turns to his generals. "Stand down." Then he raises an eyebrow over at Titus. "Force stun, eh?" That was traditionally a Jedi skill, and a Master level skill at that. Kylo nods his approval. This is actually a promising step for his struggling Chosen One. "Impressive. Most impressive. But unnecessary. Your mother gave assurances that no one will arrest your sister. I will honor that promise." Kylo looks the sullen girl in the eye. "Malia Biggs," he pronounces. "You are safe here now."

Rey starts stepping forward to greet the kids. "Malia, we were so worried—" Rey has a wide, happy looking smile on her face. But it disappears when the Biggs girl produces a blaster.

Beside Kylo, Nestor Flick automatically takes aim for the killing shot. "Boss?"

"Stand down. I'll freeze it," Kylo orders curtly as he crosses his arms and levels his son a serious look. "Well, you two have our attention," he says expectantly. Everyone in the room is watching this strange standoff.

"Malia! Put that thing away!" Rey barks in the tone of irate mom. Then she demands of their son, "Titus, I thought you said you were talking her into coming home—"

The Biggs girl holds the blaster steady. She's a cool one, Kylo observes. And it looks like she's used a gun before. He is on alert and ready to block any shots.

"Shut up, Mom!" The Biggs girl looks Rey up and down with contempt. "Or am I supposed to call you Empress now?"

"Put the gun down," Rey says quietly as she takes another step forward. "Call me Mom. I'll always be your mother, Malia. Thank you for coming home."

"This is not my home!" the Biggs girl hollers. Her vehemence provokes murmurs through the room. No one knows what to make of the newcomer with the gun who calls the Empress Mom.

"You're wrong, Malia. You will always be welcome here," Rey answers calmly. "Titus?" Rey now looks to their boy. "What's going on? What's this about?"

The Biggs girl answers for him. "This is about Dad. You set up Dad!" Then she takes aim once more.

"Boss?" Nestor mutters warily. But again, Kylo waves him off. Because once the shooting starts, who knows how this will end.

Rey admirably keeps her calm. She is taking slow steps forward now with hands raised. "Put the gun away and let's talk this out, Malia. I can help you and I can help Dad. No one set up Dad."

"I'm not here for your help!" Malia retorts. She glances over to Titus and the two nod at one another. Whatever they are up to, it's a joint plot.

"Then why are you here?" Kylo drawls impatiently. He glares at Titus. "This isn't the time or place for a family reunion." He gestures to the rapt crowd of onlookers. Many of whom look like they want to flee. "Kid, I'd rather you and your sister not get any of my subjects killed." Today was supposed to be a day of peace and reconciliation. Not public family drama. And all these Hosnia survivors have lost enough. Kylo's eyes narrow on his defiant looking young son. "Titus, this isn't the time or place," he growls

"That's right, I forget," the boy sneers back. "You like to be in control! Everything is on your terms! Everything is what you want! You don't care how that affects anyone else." The boy exchanges another look with his sister and then his brand-new lightsaber leaps into his hand to ignite.

Fuuuck. Kylo blinks as his son stares him down with Luke Skywalker's sword and freakish yellow Sith eyes. Fuuuck. This isn't good. When he had handed his son the sword that had taken down an Empire and slew two Sith, Kylo hadn't ever planned on facing it again himself. But from the look on the boy's face, he will be today. Fuuuck. His kid doesn't lack for ambition, that's for sure.

And then Titus underscores that point. "Why are we here?" the boy asks rhetorically as he gives the sword a flashy spin. "It's simple, Master. We're here to kill you."

"Oh, my Gods," Rey breaks her stunned silence. She turns back to Kylo with a stricken look on her face. Then, in an instant, she takes charge. In a very Mom-like tone, Rey tromps forward to order, "Titus! Turn that off. NOW!"

Nestor's blaster is back in his hand. "Stand down," Kylo tells him again quietly. "I will handle this." He wants to contain the conflict to family members, otherwise Nestor might get his neck snapped with the Force.

"TITUS!" Rey bellows. "TURN THAT OFF NOW!"

The boy looks to his mother and the yellow fades from his eyes as he is momentarily contrite. "I'm sorry, Mom, but I will do what I must."

"What?" Rey barks as she moves forward some more. She has a hand raised and she is in the kid's face. "Titus, I am warning you! Now, I am your mother and you will do what I say!"

"Listen to your mother, kid," Kylo warns softly. "This is not the time or place for a brawl. And you're not good enough to duel with a real sword yet against a Force-user. This won't be like deflecting blaster bolts. Put it away for now and we can fight this out with practice sabers in the training room in an hour."

"Afraid, Master?" Titus sneers as he steps past Rey.

Kylo rolls his eyes. "I didn't hide from Luke Skywalker and I sure as Hell won't hide from you, kid." And, truthfully, Kylo's focus isn't on the kid, it's on his irrational sister. For who knows that she will do. But he is encouraged to see that Malia Biggs no longer has the blaster pointing at Rey. "Take the girl away, Rey. Where you can talk in private." His new strategy is to separate this rebellious pair.

Rey nods and tells him, "Resolve this, Kylo. Without swords."

"Can I use lightning?" he smirks as his boy seethes.

Rey reprimands him sternly. "No one gets hurt—do you understand?"

"Yes, dear." Kylo smirks some more.

Rey now attempts to lead away the very reluctant looking Biggs girl. "Come, Malia, we should talk." Immediately, Rey starts in with offers of assistance. "I want to help you and your sister . . ."

"We're here about Dad," the stone-faced girl retorts.

"We can talk about Dad, too," Rey assures her. "Maybe, we can even see him together." Rey keeps ignoring the blaster held down by the girl's side much like she ignored the blaster Nita Warren had pulled on her weeks ago. "Malia, I am so glad that you are safe." Rey's relief is sincere. "Now, we can begin to work things out. Come," she gestures towards the door.

The girl walks apart a few paces but she outright refuses the leave the room. "No. We talk here. Now." And that's probably for the best, Kylo reconsiders. He doesn't trust that girl.

Rey starts talking now about how she heard that Sasha needs help and how together she and Malia will get the younger girl past her addiction. Kylo is monitoring this exchange closely when he gets a split-second warning from a lightsaber buzz. With a Force-assist in speed, Titus has moved to attack.

Kylo's own saber flies into his hand and ignites to block the charge just in time. Normally, he would throw an opponent back hard with the Force now, but he gives Titus only a glancing blow. That's a real sword in his kid's hand and a bad tumble could cost him a limb. Titus is up on his feet quickly and still on the attack. Kylo merely defends as the boy circles him slowly.

"You're a dead man," Titus hisses. "Don't think you can arrest Dad and live."

"Patricide? Really?" Kylo complains. He is very annoyed at how this is turning out. "How very Skywalker of you. I guess it's just like the holonet says-like father, like son."

"I'm nothing like you!"

The battle has Rey's full attention now and she stalks right up and boldly inserts herself. And that is a truly dangerous move, for historically people stand between two angry Skywalkers tend to die. Instantly, Kylo disengages. Titus does the same. "Stop this! Both of you!" Rey orders. "Titus, this won't help Dad at all!"

"Listen to your mother." It's Chancellor Flick. As ever, his friend is a voice of steady calm. "You're only making things worse."

"Shut up, Chancellor!" Titus throws a hand up and Force pushes Nestor against the far wall. "This isn't your fight, Knight!"

"Titus!" Rey shrieks again in outrage.

But Nestor calmly picks himself up and walks back forward. "Kid, I've been fighting at your dad's back since long before you were born. His fights are my fights. Remember that."

"Leave Nestor out of this," Kylo orders. He doesn't need this to get any worse. "If you want a fight, Titus, then bring it on." And now the battle begins in earnest as they both sidestep fuming Rey. The boy unloads a series of saber passes that are sloppy but incredibly fast. Kylo decides that he needs to focus or else he might accidentally hurt the kid after all.

"There's nothing left I need to learn from you," the boy boasts. "What I don't know, I'll get from the books."

"Clearly, you don't know how to lunge," Kylo critiques. "Well, come on, you can do better than that." The boy responds to his goading and Kylo easily bats his sword away. This is his strategy, Kylo decides, he will tire the boy out and then disarm him when the opportune moment comes. And since they are doing this, Kylo decides to make it a teachable moment. "Put your weight into it more," he corrects. "Stab like you mean it. It's like you're poking me with that sword."

The boy is not pleased with his father's condescension. But dutifully, he lunges again. "I hate you! I'm going to kill you!"

Even that, Kylo makes a lesson. "Good. Let the hate flow through you. Feel its power. Emotion has raw power. Use it. Strike me down," he crows, feeling every inch the Sith Master. Kylo keeps glancing Rey's way to make sure things are still under control with Malia Biggs. Mother and daughter are bickering now. And an angry argument he can handle, but not with a loaded blaster in the mix.

"You are the reason our family is ruined!" Titus accuses, recalling his attention to the fight. "You are the reason for Mom's lies!"

Kylo ignores this. "We need to work on your left side. Like your mother, you are weak on your left side."

"She still cut your fucking hand off," the boy hisses.

And damn, if Kylo doesn't feel his face redden with embarrassment. He doesn't need to be reminded of that before all these witnesses. But he makes light of the comment and tries to shrug it off. "I wasn't trying to fight her, kid. She would have been dead if I had. Yes, that's better," Kylo approves. "When you concentrate, you are less sloppy. Titus, feel the Force flowing through you. Let it direct you to where you need to go."

"This is the end for you, my Master," Titus vows, doing his best to lower his still boyishly high-pitched voice. And, really, this whole situation would be a bit comical except that these are real swords and they are Skywalkers. That's never a good combination, Kylo knows.

He sighs as the skinny kid shoots a Force push his way that Kylo easily repels. And now Kylo begins his own line of attack, careful to make sure it's a pattern that Titus will recognize and know how to deflect. He does this two more times and the kid gets the gist. Now, he's offended that his father isn't truly engaged. Outraged that he isn't considered a threat. "Fight me, dammit!" the boy howls.

Kylo shakes his head. "Titus, you don't know enough for this to be a fair fight."

"You underestimate my power!" the boy bellows, eyes gleaming yellow with rage.

And that's enough of a boast for Kylo to call his bluff. With a moment of concentration, he shoots Force lighting straight at the boy. Titus lands on his back before he scrambles up. Now Kylo lowers his sword and begins teaching again. "Kid, don't just take it. Repel it. Try again." Kylo blasts him with some more lightning and this time Titus engages with his sword. "Better," Kylo approves. "In time, you will learn to repel it without a sword. With just your hand. Yoda did it with just his hand. So did my uncle. Here, let's try again." Kylo repeats the move. "Okay, this time don't just deflect it. Point it back at me. Use your opponent's strength against them. Treat it like you would a blaster bolt." The boy nods gamely and he deflects Kylo's next zap. But Kylo effortlessly leaps with the Force to dodge the bouncing lightning. Dodging deflected attacks was a skill that Snoke insisted he master before meeting his uncle long ago. "Ha!" Kylo crows gleefully. "Missed me!"

"Fuck you!" The boy rages anew. And now, he does something truly unexpected and tries to cast lightning of his own. Titus succeeds in a few blue sparks. Then looks crestfallen.

Kylo decides to give his proto-Sith's ego a boost. "Titus," he says sincerely. "That's impressive for a kid your age. Give it time, give it time. A man grows into Darkness and you are still a boy." He looks over his disappointed and confused looking kid. "Are we done here?" he gently asks.

Titus answers with an attack. His sword is a streaking green blur. And this too is impressive. "That is better. Much smoother. We'll make a swordsman of you yet," Kylo decides.

"You won't live to see that," the boy vows.

Titus' dogged determination and utter seriousness has its effect. His son really does seem to want to kill him, Kylo realizes. So he engages now with words and not just with his sword. He needs to talk this kid down because if this fight goes on too long, someone will get hurt. Plus, the argument between Rey and the Biggs girl is getting louder. Things with both kids are heating up.

"So this revenge of the Sith of yours is all for the Biggs family?" Kylo asks plainly. "Because you should know that historically our family has lots of collateral damage. You might as well get used to that, Titus." It's true. Skywalker foster parents in particular die hard. Owen and Beru Lars had perished gruesomely at the hands of stormtroopers on Tatooine and the Organas had been vaporized on Alderaan.

The Biggs girl is screaming now. Calling Rey a traitor to the Resistance and blaming her for Cato Stegger's death and her father's arrest. "Dad was never going to kill you and Titus, the plan was only to kill Kylo Ren!" The artless girl plows forward with self-incrimination. Truly, Kylo thinks, this brother-sister pair is as unsophisticated in treason as they come.

"What's the point of this?" Kylo complains as glances again over at Rey. "You were just supposed to bring the Biggs girl in so we could work something out—"

"We're here to kill you!" the boy reminds him. His words are snarled and punctuated with a lunge.

Kylo leaps back. "Was this the plot you hatched since yesterday morning?" he demands. "Because it's only slightly more asinine than the real one your mother busted." Kylo disengages and steps back. "After you murder me, then what?" he wants to know. "Walk me through your plan."

"We flee with Mom."

Kylo looks over to his Chancellor. "Nestor, I guess we should be relieved that my twelve-year-old isn't staging a coup."

"I'm thirteen! I'm thirteen today!" the boy hollers back. He's indignant.

"Right. Happy birthday, kid." Then, Kylo keeps probing. "What makes you think your mother will go along with this?"

"Mom loves us. She always has."

"Enough to follow you into exile?" Kylo challenges.

The boy is firm. "She loves us." The kid still hasn't shown any signs of wavering. He doesn't look like he's tiring yet either. "Your overconfidence is your weakness," Titus observes coldly. And Kylo has to hand it to him, that's some fairly sophisticated trash talk.

He responds in kind. "Your faith in your mother is yours."

"Mom loves us." The kid is certain of this and it shows.

"Yes," Kylo purrs above the hum of their swords. "But the trouble is that she loves me too."

"She loves me more!" the boy wails. And it is pitifully juvenile. This is a boy trying hard to be a man, but he's not. He's just a confused kid with burgeoning power and ambition but none of the skill or maturity to handle it. Kylo shoots another look over at where Rey listens patiently to her venting step-daughter. Malia Biggs is to blame for putting Titus up to this, Kylo is sure. "She loves me more!" the boy says again with more conviction. "She has to . . ." Titus reasons aloud. "You're the one who locked her in a cell . . . "

The less said about that, the better. Kylo moves on. "Titus, your terrorist sister is only using you-can't you see that? It's like how Kenobi and Yoda used Luke Skywalker for revenge. It's like how my uncle tried to use your mother to kill me—"

"That's right-we want revenge!"

"This isn't helping Cade Biggs and your sister isn't going to avoid punishment this time around. I don't give second chances, Titus," Kylo warns.

His kid visibly swallows and then nods. "Then we have nothing to lose."

"It doesn't have to be like this, Titus," Kylo tries a different tactic. "It's like your mother told you yesterday, we are all on the same side."

"Not when you arrest Dad."

And now, Kylo is growing frustrated. There is always conflict between a Master and Apprentice and Kylo is well aware that there is plenty of conflict between he and his son. He's fine with that—he doesn't expect a Sith to be the happy go lucky sort. He's prepared to tolerate some attitude and posturing from his moody teenaged son. But he draws the line at open combat. For this is everything that Kylo had killed his uncle in order to avoid. But short of humbling this kid—which he would rather not do—Kylo doesn't see an easy way out of this. So he takes a page out of Luke Skywalker's playbook and extinguishes his sword. "That's enough," Kylo decrees. "I will not fight you, son." Then Kylo starts crossing the room fast towards Rey and Malia Biggs.

It's a mistake. The girl sees him coming and feels threatened because once again she brandishes her gun. And whatever, Kylo thinks. He can freeze whatever she shoots at him. But Titus too senses a threat and that's when he rejoins the fight. He leaps with the help of the Force and swings straight for his father's back. But Kylo Ren has reflexes honed from years of combat and he never allows them to grow rusty. He whirls and reignites in time to block the attack hard. This time, Kylo doesn't pull his punches and the follow through of this swing has all his considerable strength. Kylo basically bats back his skinny, half grown kid and throws him very hard with the Force.

"Titus!" Malia screams and Rey too looks alarmed. Grimly, Kylo continues towards them and that's when the girl panics and fires. Only it's not at him. It's at Rey. And as luck would have it, Rey is distracted and looking towards Titus. She doesn't block the shot and neither does he.

"REY!"

"AHHH!" Rey stumbles back, clutching at her stomach. She wavers a moment staring at her erstwhile daughter before she crumples and falls.

Malia Biggs looks stunned as she drops the hot blaster. When the gun hits the ground, it goes off again. This time, harmlessly into the wall.

One second later, a third blaster round fires, this time from behind. It's Nestor Flick from across the room with an accuracy every bit as deadly as his Second Knight younger self. Malia Biggs goes down without a sound from an expert shot between the eyes.

Kylo ignores this. His attention is only for Rey. He's on his knees now reaching for her with trembling hands. Kylo turns her over and, oh Gods, this is bad. Rey is alive, at least. He can feel it in the Force. But the shot had been at nearly point-blank range. The flash-burn is huge.

"Mom! Malia!" Titus is racing to his side.

Nestor beats him there, hollering loud orders for someone to get a medic. And is anyone listening? The room is in uproar all around them as people are screaming and some flee. "Stand back, kid," his Chancellor orders. "You're done enough. Give your Mom some space."

"The Hell, I will!" Titus snarls. "You just killed my sister!" he accuses as he raises his sword with intent to kill. His distraught kid has plenty of unspent bloodlust and his next move is to slash the Chancellor down. But Kylo is there first with his blade. He has no time for this childishness with Rey so badly hurt. So he brutally knocks the sword from his kid's grip and takes his right hand with it.

"Aaaaahhh!" the boy cries out and Kylo winces for he himself knows that pain. But there isn't time for this. There isn't a time for a medic either. Not with Rey fading as she bleeds out before his eyes.

"Rey, the medics are coming. You will be fine. Titus, you will be fine too," Nestor Ren is calm and composed as always even while the Skywalkers around him melt down.

Ignoring his kid's screaming, Kylo drags Titus to him with the Force and thrusts him down before Rey. "Forget your fucking hand—your mother is dying!" he growls. "Heal her! You can heal her in the Force until the medics get here!" But his son is paralyzed in the moment. A thirteen-year-old kid with an amputation who is just now realizing that he's watching his mother die. And a few feet away his dead so-called sister lays face down in a pool of blood.

"M-Mom . . . "

Kylo Ren is a battle-hardened veteran of carnage. When it comes to blaster wounds, he and Nestor have seen it all. Titus has only seen the aftermath of Empire Day. And those men were all strangers. This is his mother and that makes a difference. Kylo can feel his own rising panic. It makes a difference for him too.

"I can't tourniquet this—" Nestor stutters as he too sinks down and starts to assess the damage. In seconds, he has his jacket off. He's using it to apply pressure to the wound. "Oh, geez, Kylo," his friend's habitual calm deserts him. "She bleeding out. We need a pressure bacta patch stat . . . "

"Heal her!" Kylo roars to his quaking, tearful son at his side. "Do something! Or she will be dead before the medics get here—"

But the kid is in shock, both physical and emotional.

"Heal her!" Kylo roars again. "Summon the Light and heal her! Only you can do this!"

"I c-can't concentrate—"

"Try harder!"

"I can't!"

Of course, he can't. The boy has no combat training and he doesn't know that the more dangerous things get, the more deliberate you become. Titus looks helpless. But while that's understandable, it's a problem. "Uncloak your imprint!" Kylo roars. At least his disappointing kid can do that. "I want her to feel your presence in the Force to know she is not alone!" He knows Rey's biggest fear has always been dying alone. And if she can feel Titus in the Force, she'll know he hasn't murdered the kid. At least, not yet.

"Move! Nestor, get him out of here!" Kylo orders as he elbows them both away. He is the Sith Master Darth Ren and he is powerful enough to raise the dead. Powerful enough to keep those he loves from dying. And that's how today will end, he vows, for he's not letting Rey go. This will be a recovery in the Force and not a resurrection . . . he hopes.

But can he do this? He has to do this. Kylo has seen Rey heal with the Force and he has listened to the Jedi holochrons that Rey brings to dinner for her and Titus to open together. Kylo listened in to those basic healing techniques as a purely academic exercise. He had never thought to ever personally master those Jedi skills. And he hasn't intentionally channeled the Light since that night holding hands with Rey months ago. And before that, not since the war years when he had set off to Ahch-To to kill his uncle and instead found a taunting holochron in his place. Can he do this? Can a Sith Master really do this? He has to do this. There simply isn't time to fuck this up.

"Breathe, Rey. Just breathe," he whispers. And she is gasping but trying all the same. Her body is convulsing slightly in a way that alarms him. Like she might seize at any moment. And where are those fucking medics? Kylo's heart sinks as he watches Rey's eyes fall closed.

With a great gulp of air and a concentration honed from decades spent mastering the Force, Kylo blocks out his surroundings and focuses only on her. On his beloved wife Rey . . . Sweaty, sandy teenaged Rey standing sentry outside her AT-AT. She grins up at his younger self as he strides down his old command shuttle ramp. Now it's Rey dressed as a princess holding his hand on the bridge of the _Finalizer_ as it orbits Coruscant. She's happy and he's happy and things are good even though there's a war. Rey is laughing loudly over something at dinner in his quarters on his flagship. She's got her elbows on the table and a beer in her hand and her hair is a mess. Oh, fuck, these old memories are bittersweet to recall. For there is an innocence and an optimism to them that Kylo knows they will never regain. He jumps forward to more recent times. To Rey casting a glance over at Titus with pride in her eyes. How she loves their high-strung, difficult son. Then his Empress is sweeping down a crowded palace hallway when their two retinues cross paths. He nods and she gives an enigmatic half smile before she moves on. Then it's last night and Rey is on her knees and he's on his knees and they are making promises in hushed tones. Forever came suddenly but not a moment too late. Rey . . . she is the only woman he has ever loved. Her supposed loss the first time had nearly broken him. Kylo cannot bear to lose her now after they have come so far. From bitter betrayal to a halfhearted alliance to a second chance at love. Love is what he needs and so desperately wants and Kylo refuses to watch it slip yet again from his grasp. Love . . . Kylo immerses himself in the majestic, healing, hopeful power of love. For surely love must be the pathway to the Light.

It's not working . . . he's not getting through. This is so hard now and, truthfully, it was always hard even in his Padawan days. But Kylo focuses again, blindly hoping for the best as he wills her bleeding to stop through the Force. For time to slow down for he and Rey alone so that the short window she has will not close too soon before help arrives. Kylo Ren has seen and caused enough death over the years to know the signs. And they are all present here.

"Oh Rey, I love you," he whispers. They didn't even have one full day together married. And after all they have been through that seems so terribly unfair. But knowing these might be their last moments, Kylo starts making promises now. "I will take care of Titus. He and I will get through this and things will be better between us. He is our son and that is what matters most. I will teach him everything I know. Rey, Biggs will be fine. I'll make sure he gets a light sentence. And I will make certain his younger girl gets the help she needs. Just hold on, Rey. Stay with me . . . " His voice is cracking now. "I need you. I have always needed you. I c-can't do this alone . . ."

Is she hearing him? Is she getting this? And where are the medics? Where are those fucking medics? Rey is unconscious now, so her mind is a blank as he enters it in the Force. Still, he speaks to her. It's mostly to keep himself calm, he knows. _Rey, I love you. Stay with me. Fight to hang on._

"Oh, Rey," he feels a tear leak out, "I wish this were me instead of you." He would gladly switch places if he could. And now he gets it—he really gets it. How Snoke must have felt back on Crait. How Vader must have felt in the Death Star throne room. It is a moment of utter clarity as Kylo realizes that love can be more precious than power. That it can be worth sacrificing for. If Kylo could, he would give up his Empire so that this woman might live. And he would do it without any regrets. Because that's how valuable this love is.

Now, finally the Light leaps to fill him. The Force never deserts a Skywalker in need. And Gods, this is a rush like no other. Kylo feels himself shudder and gasp with the hard jolt of power. He is a conduit merely, channeling the soothing, healing life force from the universe into Rey. Is it his imagination, or can he hear her heartbeat? And is the bleeding lessened? He can't tell because her dress, his hands, and Nestor's coat are all soaked with blood. And maybe that's just the hopeful Light playing tricks on his mind. _Rey, I love you. Stay with me. Don't leave me._

This power is oddly familiar. It has a vaguely nostalgic sense of de ja vu. Like the Force is with him in a way that it hasn't been in a long, long time. The Force is the Force, old Plagueis used to say. But the truth is that the feel of the Light is something far different from the Dark. It's not just how you tap into this power that matters, it is the purpose of the power itself. The peaceful calm Kylo's mind is immersed in feels so eternal and so right. Whatever happens next, Kylo intrinsically knows that everything will be alright. Is this what it means to be one with the Force, he wonders? Does this mean that Rey is already dead? His mind is in hers and he knows what she knows, and all he knows is the blinding, welcoming, healing Light. _Go to the Light, Rey._ Everything else around him is just dim, distant noise.

Until someone nudges him hard, that is.

"Excellency?" a voice says tentatively. It sounds very stressed.

"Kylo, let the medics do their work." It's Nestor talking.

Kylo blinks and loses concentration. Instantly, his fragile connection to the Light is gone. He whirls in a panic, but Nestor pulls him back. "Let them do their work." And that's when Kylo realizes that a team of medical personnel and droids surrounds him and Rey.

"S-she's—"

"Let them do their work," Nestor repeats in the slow, steady tone he had used during their worst moments of the war. As always, the more upset Kylo gets, the calmer his friend becomes. "Let them do their work." Kylo nods and makes room. Slowly, he rises to his feet. The medics start calling out jargon he doesn't understand. All he knows is that some droid reports on Rey's fluctuating vital signs.

"Boss," Nestor says quietly as they both look on. "I have seen you do some pretty amazing stuff, but I have never seen you do that. I think you just kept her alive." His friend looks very impressed. "Did the Leader do that?"

"N-No," Kylo answers absently. "Rey does that." Kylo keeps blinking and squinting. It feels very jarring to reorient his senses back to the present. His mental equilibrium is very unsettled, maybe because this has all happened so fast. And Rey . . . oh, Rey. Please let her be alright.

"K-Kylo . . . " It's a raspy croak that sounds like her voice. And is his mind playing tricks on him? Kylo peers over shoulders to see that Rey's eyes are open now. She is wheezing heavily but breathing strong. More importantly, the glassy, vacant-eyed look of death in her face is gone. "K-K-Kylo," she tries again weakly, her head thrashing a bit as she frantically looks for him. "W-where is—"

"Stay still. Don't talk, my lady," someone chides her as she is hurriedly loaded into a waiting medical capsule. "Emperor Ren is fine. He is uninjured." And before Kylo himself can speak up, they whisk her away.

Nestor follows the fast retreating medical team issuing orders. "Put guards on her. No one gets near the Empress without a full security check." As usual, his Chancellor has the cool presence of mind to anticipate problems even in a crisis. His friend now returns to clap him on the back. "She'll be fine, Boss. Whatever you did just then looks like it worked."

Whatever he did. What did he do? And for how long? Kylo isn't quite sure. All he knows is that he felt the Light. He still feels in a daze. Is he in shock? He must be because it's taking his mind a bit to adjust. Dazed Kylo now gazes blankly about at the rest of the room. Everyone left in attendance stands frozen in silence, locked down by the army of guards who have flooded in and sealed the exits with weapons drawn. Apparently, everyone is a terror suspect until proven otherwise. Including, of course, his own son. Kylo sees Titus surrounded at a distance by some very wary looking guards.

No one is sure what to do about his kid. Least of all Kylo Ren.

Titus breaks the silence in the room. "Is Mom alright?" he calls out in a boyish high-pitched voice. "Did it work?"

It's the wrong thing to say. Because after the rush of the Light and the extreme stress of the situation, Kylo's emotions are overwhelmed. It's like he is hyperventilating in the Force as he careens from one extreme to the other. And now, where Light once was, Darkness descends fast. It's familiar so Kylo quickly finds his mental focus. Then his anger finds a victim in his son. Kylo stalks forward as he nails the wounded boy with a full-strength bolt of Force lightning to the chest. It throws Titus clear across the room. Guards and bystanders leap from the grisly missile shot in their path.

"Traitor!" Kylo roars out his displeasure. "You will account for this!"

As usual, the dysfunctional Skywalker clan has given everyone a good show. And it's not over yet. For that single bolt of lightning has done little to satisfy him. If anything, it has stoked his desire for more Darkness. Kylo feels its drive pulsing through him now. Urging him to hurt, to dominate, to kill.

"As usual, my foe is one of my own family!" The Sith looms over his wayward, injured son. His words drip with contempt. "Titus, you are a Skywalker through and through. How you disappoint me."

"Is she okay?" the boy ventures weakly. He has what's left of his arm tucked tightly into his body. The wound doesn't bleed, of course, it burns. Lightsabers cauterize with their intense heat. It's what makes a saber wound so painful.

Kylo nails his cringing kid with another shot of lightning, and the Dark Sith in him enjoys watching the boy scream. "I should fry you now, but I will not," he decides. "I will let you live so that I can use your life later on. Titus, if your mother dies, I am resurrecting her in the Force. I will forfeit you for her."

"You can d-do that?" the boy asks, looking slightly awed. "You can bring people back to life?"

"I can do anything in the Force," Kylo proclaims. And after today, that boast feels true. "I have the power of a God, and I am prepared to use it! I lost your mother once and I am not losing her again. Titus, if need be, you will die so that she may live." The sacrifice will work differently this generation, he thinks grimly.

Nestor is at his side now. He's the only person who dares interrupt Emperor Ren now. "Boss, go to Rey. You heard her ask for you."

Kylo doesn't answer. He just stands there seething, still riding the crest of his emotions, asserting control as he channels them deep. Pain is power, he reminds himself as he tears his eyes away from his foolish son.

"Boss," Nestor tries again. "Let me handle the kid. I've got this. Rey needs you now."

"Chancellor, is she okay?" Titus croaks out.

Kylo answers brutally, "Lucky for you, your mother is a very hard woman to kill. She'll survive. She's got to survive." He hopes.

"Can you resurrect Malia, Master? Can that be done?"

That question deserves another bolt of Force lightning, but this time Kylo defers. He has regained his equilibrium and he is done venting his anger. More than anything, Kylo feels spent from the whiplash of opposing intense emotions-love and hate-expressed in the Force. This must be what Rey feels like when she is done healing at the hospital, he thinks.

And now, Kylo considers anew his prodigy son who huddles wounded and in pain at his feet. The Sith feels ashamed suddenly for what he has done. His actions are defensible in the circumstances, he knows. But this is his kid son caught between competing sides of his own family, much like Rey had been during the war. He should have diffused the situation some other way, Kylo thinks now.

"Titus-" he begins haltingly, searching for something to say.

"Can you resurrect Malia?" the boy chokes out again. "P-Please—"

"I'll think about it if your mother lives."

He son nods and stops his whining now. In fact, the boy's expression confuses him completely. It oddly looks like relief. "It was you all along, wasn't it?" Titus breathes out. "Luke Skywalker and Darth Plagueis were right."

"What?" Kylo isn't following. His uncle and his Master didn't agree on anything as far as he knows.

"It is you," the boy says, sounding more certain. "I guess that explains a lot."

"Come on, Kylo," Nestor prods him to leave. "Rey needs you now."

But Kylo lingers a minute more. "What are you saying, Titus?"

The boy's answer floors him. "Isn't it obvious? Master, you are the true Chosen One."


	44. Chapter 44

Kylo stands in the brightly lit, efficient looking medical room before the bacta tank that holds his wife. This is Rey's second stint in a bacta tank in twenty-four hours. Tomorrow there will be yet another surgery and then another eight-hour dip in the tank. But hopefully after that, Rey's healing will just take time. The doctors have all expressed their amazement that the Empress survived the gunshot wound. It's a miracle, one physician had told him sincerely. Yes, Kylo responded softly, it was the Force. Well . . . it was the Force and it was him.

He would not let Rey die. Not now that she is his forever wife. Not now that she finally loves him. Not now that he needs her for more than himself but for his Empire and his troubled son too. He would not let the Resistance have her, he would not let Hux steal her, and he would not let Cade Biggs keep her. And so, death didn't get to take Rey either. He understands now why Darth Plagueis kept his lost love's body in stasis for nearly a century hoping she might be revived. Darth Ren knows without hesitation that he would have done the same for Rey. For the Sith love sparingly but completely, and they do not bow to the limitations of ordinary men. Death be not proud for these Dark priests of the Force refuse to recognize its sting.

That awful scene three days ago in his throne room was just more of the same, Kylo knows. For from the very beginning with Rey, he simply would not let go. Doggedly pursing her from Jakku across the galaxy even to Canto Bight and back. At thirty, Kylo had wanted Rey for himself with an obsessive, possessive Sith's love. But at forty-five, he needs Rey for more than just himself. She is the key to balance in the larger scheme of things and for peace in his own home. And that is the realization of maturity, Kylo thinks: it's not all about him anymore.

Kylo is still coming to grips with what happened in the Force. For he had not saved Rey by Darkness. She had lived through the Light. Kylo Ren used to think that the Light in him would save his soul but now he sees that it has saved Rey. Once she had loved the Light in him, but there wasn't enough for their love to last. But now, there is enough Light in him for her to love again and for him to save her as well. All of that Light is the consequence of Rey. Old Plagueis had known all along that the scavenger princess was the key to finding balance in the Force. But Kylo had misunderstood how. It has taken over a decade of struggling, poor choices, and self-discovery to get to where he is now. To become the Chosen One.

Honestly, it had come as a complete shock. But Kylo had felt the truth of his son's insight resonate in the Force. And he himself had known it to be true as soon as the adrenaline of the moment receded enough for him to contemplate the enormity of what he had done. For years, his mother and his uncle had implored him to return to the Light. But Kylo had never listened. And now, he returns to the Light, however briefly, on his own. Oh, the irony! Has he redeemed himself? Kylo isn't sure. He does not know what it means for the future. And he does not know whether he can repeat the feat again. But it is possible to vacillate between Light and Dark, he now knows. With enough discernment and practice, he hopes that it is a skill that can be learned.

And, hopefully, taught too. For his too Dark son is in desperate need of the Light.

Over the past three days, Nestor Flick has seen to Titus' medical care. His friend also made the executive decision to throw the boy in a cell. I thought about taking him home, Nestor told him in a message, but he blames me for the girl. Given the circumstances, I couldn't put Cesi and my daughters at risk. Besides, the last thing we need now is him running away.

Kylo had not objected to this treatment. In fact, he was happy to let the kid stew for a few days while he stewed too. Kylo had needed his own sense of vengeance to subside. For years ago, his reflexive need to punish Rey had become a much-regretted mistake with far-reaching consequences. Kylo knows that if he wants to avoid sowing the seeds of his own demise at the hands of his only son, he has to make a different choice. The war for the Force is over but repeating the same cycle of lies and fractured family has led the Skywalkers back to the same place. His whole life Kylo has tried to break free of this trap, but unwittingly he fell into it all the same.

Now that all danger to Rey has passed, Kylo summons his boy for a reckoning. Titus is marched forward by a quartet of guards wielding lit Force pikes and plenty of troopers too. But they both know that small army wouldn't stop his wounded kid if he were truly determined to escape. If Titus is here, it's because he wants to be here, and that alone gives Kylo some hope. He needs to salvage something of their relationship before it is broken beyond repair. Because whether Jedi or Sith, a Master's first imperative is to pass on what they have learned. And what good is it to be the Chosen One if there is no Skywalker heir?

"Leave us," Kylo dismisses the guards with a wave but doesn't turn around.

"Excellency, are you sure?" the ranking man respectfully asks. It's a fair question considering who this kid is and what he's done.

But Kylo declines their protection. "I believe I've already established that the prisoner isn't a threat."

"As you wish."

The guards retreat and now it's just he and Titus alone. With his back to the kid still, Kylo allows a protracted, strained silence to fall.

Finally, Titus breaks it. "Master." The boy sounds very uncertain of himself. He takes a deep breath and begins again, "Master, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes." Kylo is still staring at Rey in the tank.

Titus must be too. "How is she?" the boy asks.

Kylo does not sugarcoat the truth. "She will recover but it will be hard and long. Point blank blasterfire to vital organs is deadly usually. But not to your mother. As usual, your mother survives."

"Why does she look like she's asleep?"

"She is sedated. Since she can't swim, she was fearful in the tank the first time. It is better this way." Kylo is determined to limit further trauma to Rey. And he'll be damned if she wakes to more conflict between him and their son.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." And now his son says awkwardly, "We never planned to hurt Mom. I didn't know Malia would do that . . . "

"You should have known," Kylo is blunt. "You knew Malia's state of mind going in there better than anyone and you knew she had a blaster on her." When the boy makes no reply, Kylo continues his reprimand. "Titus, she used you. People will try to use you. To deceive you. Get used to it. It the consequence of power. And it is why power is very isolating. There will be very few people in life who you can trust."

"Flick didn't have to k-kill her—"

"Yes, he did," Kylo overrides. "He put that vigilante girl down humanely like the rabid dog she was. Malia Biggs got her second chance and she wasted it."

"He didn't have to k-kill her, he could have injured her instead." The boy isn't giving up. And that tells Kylo that Titus still doesn't appreciate the consequences of what he has done.

"Malia Biggs had just shot down the Empress. She tried to murder the woman who raised her from six years old in cold blood. Nestor returned deadly force with deadly force. Those are standard rules of engagement. He did the right thing." Kylo turns now to regard his boy, eyes sweeping over the still-healing new prosthetic hand tied up in a sling. Titus looks pale and his eyes are swollen and heavily shadowed. His face betrays all of his grief and worry. The kid has no poker face. In that too, it is like father, like son.

"Nestor Flick is the most loyal man in the Empire," Kylo observes bitterly. "Far more loyal than you, my son."

"You're not going to bring Malia back to life, are you?" The boy's disappointment is palpable but clearly he's not surprised.

"I will let your mother choose what to do," Kylo reveals. "She is the victim here." He's decided to punt on this issue to remove one more cause for resentment between him and his son. "If your mother wishes, I will resurrect the girl. But only on the condition that I wipe her memory. I will not let Malia Biggs live to try again," Kylo is firm.

"What about Sasha?" the boy wants to know. "What will happen to her? She has no one now."

"She has her biological mother." The druggie Biggs girl is someone else's problem as far as Kylo is concerned.

"But Mom thinks Belinda is really flighty . . . "

Is that so? Yes, Kylo remembers hearing something along those lines. He thinks a moment, recalling how Cade Biggs had fostered his own son for twelve years no questions asked. "I will ask your mother what she wants for the younger girl. It's up to her to work out something with Belinda Biggs. But if your mother wants to take Sasha in to live with us, that's fine."

"Sasha can come live with us?" Titus sounds incredulous but hopeful. "Really?"

"It is your mother's choice." Kylo is feeling magnanimous today. Plus, he would like to avoid any further angry teenaged girls showing up to murder Rey. "Your mother is going to have a hard time getting over this," he observes softly.

Kylo watches the boy's eyes again settle on the bacta tank. "How long is the recovery?" Titus asks.

The question annoys Kylo, for the boy has missed the point. "I'm not talking about getting shot. I'm talking about what you and your sister did. You mother is going to have a very hard time with that." Kylo looks Titus over with undisguised frustration. "Things are going to change now," he informs him.

The boy takes a deep breath and looks resigned. "Yes, I know." Everything about his cocksure, posturing is gone. Today the boy is very subdued.

"So . . . you've tried to kill your father and you have lost a hand in a duel. If you weren't a Skywalker before, I guess you are now," Kylo sighs. He runs his own mechanical hand through his hair as he scowls. Kylo feels truly beleaguered for what has transpired. He might be the Chosen One, but he has failed spectacularly as a Master and as a father. And that stings. "The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess . . . Try though I may, it seems I can never escape the past." That is very dispiriting. But Kylo vows that he will not give into futility. He wouldn't allow himself to get trapped in the cycles of the past for his Empire and he will not allow himself to do so for his family either. And so, this conversation is not going to go like his fearful son expects. "Things are going to change now, Titus," he repeats.

"Am I supposed to say that I am sorry?" the boy snaps back. It's clear from his tone that he is not.

"I don't need your apologies," Kylo responds curtly. "But when your mother wakes, she will." The kid has the good grace to flush at this remark. "You will make your sincere apologies and give your explanation to her," Kylo orders.

"Yes, Master." And now, curiosity gets the better of the boy. "Did you know that you were the Chosen One all along?"

"No, I didn't know," Kylo admits. "And I wish I weren't. Titus, this has far reaching ramifications for us all."

"I don't understand."

Balance maybe the goal, but it has its problems, Kylo fears. "If you are not the Chosen One in the middle, then you may grow Darker to balance your mother's growing Light." Kylo sums it up by getting to the point. "Titus, I worry that this will make you Sith. That it will lead you Darker at least for the foreseeable future."

"Oh, I'm already Sith," the teenager boasts.

Kylo shoots him a look. "Kid, you're not even close. When that hand is healed somewhat, you will go to my temple. There you will formally pledge as my Apprentice. Then, together we will begin your training. There will be no more dabbling in Darkness unchecked."

Titus looks unsure about how to react. "But I thought you said I was too young . . . "

Kylo nods as he sizes up the tall-for-his-age, skinny kid. "If you are man enough to try to kill me, then you are man enough to train. You will learn discipline and restraint the way I learned long ago."

"Yeah?" The kid raises his chin. "What way is that?"

"The hard way," Kylo decrees. Sith training is not for the faint at heart or the weak in body. But it is how for millennia his Force tradition has been passed down. And Kylo doesn't know any better way to teach his son the limits and discipline he so clearly needs. It will take years for Titus to mature into a responsible man. In the meantime, Kylo will not tolerate a ticked off, hormone-filled teenager popping off with unfocused rage from time to time. "It won't be easy," Kylo warns him sternly. "But if I could do it at fifteen, you can handle it now. I got through it and was better for it. It will be the same for you."

"I'm not afraid."

Now for the first time, Kylo cracks a smirk. "You will be." He holds his boy's eyes steadily. "You will be." He gestures to the boy's sling. "That prosthetic is the latest. It should be far more capable and less painful than mine. But you will need to get it replaced and updated as you grow. It hurts like a motherfucker, I know. I've been there. When your mother is up to it, she can heal it some. But only once she has first healed herself. You will not sap her strength," he orders.

"Yes, Master."

"Let that hand be a lesson to you. It is the price of your foolish treachery. It is also the price of not knowing when the stop. If you had accepted your defeat, there would have been no need to disable you." Kylo gives the boy a hard glare. "Kid, your mother was in solitary for months for far less than what you tried."

"Yes, Master."

"Yes, Father," he corrects sharply. And that remark causes the boy to blink. "Titus, if I were merely your Sith Master you would already be dead. The Apprentice who fails to ascend, dies. That's why he must pick his time and his place carefully. Only the Apprentice who is stronger than the Master survives to claim the title. That has been the way of the Sith for generations. It is a rough justice that sustains our calling. You, son," Kylo appraises the boy bluntly, "have a long, long way to go."

"Then why am I here?" Titus challenges.

It's a question Kylo has ruminated over for two days now. He's been worried to forgive the boy and end up training his own assassin like a Sith of old. But also afraid to punish the boy and push him father away, maybe even to the Resistance. Sith training is Kylo's best stab at a compromise. It will be productive learning in the Force that hopefully will mature his boy. But it is filled with punishment, all the same. What will Rey think of formal training for Titus? Kylo isn't sure, but he suspects there will be issues. With Rey, there always are. But they have coddled Titus for far too long and now it's time to use a firmer hand.

No doubt many of his Dark Side forbearers would think him to still be too soft. Old Bane is probably rolling over in his tomb right about now and Malgus, Nihilis, Ragnos, Vitiate and the rest are shaking their collective heads in the Force. But Darth Ren is the reigning Sith Master now. There is no one to fault him for his decisions since he alone makes the rules. And, Kylo tells himself, his family needs more reconciliation and less conflict, more forgiveness and less violence, more love and less hate.

And that's why he reveals, "Titus, my old Master Darth Plagueis played the long game and he played for keeps. Where it was appropriate, he could be a very patient man. I am the same. Since you are only a child, I will be patient with you." Kylo can't hide the frustration in his voice as he begrudgingly adds, "Your potential is amazing. Not just in the Force but as a person. And that makes you valuable for the future. So I will invest the time to train and mentor you."

"Yeah?" The boy clearly feels dissed and ungrateful despite the praise. For he challenges again, "I thought you said you don't give second chances."

"I don't. But I make exceptions. Titus, whether you will admit it or not, you need help with the Force. With all the old rules thrown out, the future is very uncertain. But I promise you, the future is not found in the pages of old Sith books in my library. That knowledge is worth learning, but it is not sufficient and it reflects a perspective that the Sith have evolved past. You mother and I will teach you what you need to know for the future. If we work together, I know we will discover your place in the Force."

"You're doing this for Mom, aren't you?" the boy accuses.

"I'm doing this for all of us," Kylo answers truthfully. He is uncomfortable now as he admits aloud, "I love you, Titus. I know you don't believe that, but I hope in time you will understand that I want what's best for you." And he's doing his best, Kylo thinks silently to himself. This parenting thing is hard and the learning curve is steep. Far steeper than Kylo had ever realized until three days ago when his son had come at him with yellow eyes and a sword.

The boy just looks befuddled by this announcement. Like it is unwelcome news.

"I want you here when your mother wakes," Kylo instructs. "You will be the first thing she will ask about and I want you to be there when I tell her that Malia Biggs is dead."

"Yeah?" Titus does not look unenthusiastic. "Okay. Then just summon me from the cell."

"There is no more cell," Kylo informs him. He had thrown Rey in a cell and look how well that had worked out. "You are released to live as usual with our family." The boy looks surprised and Kylo adds with a pointed look, "I am trusting you for your mother's sake not to disappear. Titus, if there's any lesson you should learn from your mother's experience with the Biggs family, it's that you cannot run away from your problems in life. That usually only makes them worse."

"So that's it?" the boy asks. "You're letting me go?"

"You lost a hand and you lost a sister for your folly. And we almost lost your mother. I want you to learn from this, Titus. I'm not ready to give up on you."

"O-Okay. Thank you, Master . . . I guess." Kylo shoots him a reproachful look and Titus hastily amends, "Thank you, Father."

Kylo nods and glances over at the bacta tank that contains his precious Rey. "This is all that matters, son," Kylo shares the wisdom it took him forty-five years to learn. "Our family and the Force. Remember that."

Six weeks later at dusk three ships take off from Coruscant. The first ship to depart is a shuttle heading for the Outer Rim. Onboard is a family, two sisters and their father. The sisters have just recovered from a bad speeder accident. The older will cut her hair in a cute fringe to hide the scar on her forehead from her severe head injury. The resulting amnesia for the past year of her life will not be so easy to cover up. The younger sister too has hazy memories and entire time periods of her life are now blacked out. Her memory loss is the result of the severe spice addiction that was the cause of the near fatal crash. The contrite younger girl has vowed never again to touch any sort of recreational drug. She will keep that promise unbeknownst to her thanks to a heavy suggestion in the Force.

The sisters are not alone as they rebuild their lives, for their felon father is also starting anew. Cade Biggs told all he knew about the Resistance. He's a business man by trade and he knows when to cut a deal. His reward is a new name, a new job, and a new life on a Rim world where he will use his business acumen to further the First Order's economic development plans. Unlike the sisters, the father has his memory intact. But he will keep his silence. The slight old man in the nondescript black uniform who arranged it all has seen to that. He has been the Sith's trusted fixer for years and he is very good at what he does.

The second and third ships take off from the Imperial palace. One is a clunky old paint-chipped command shuttle that looks like it dates back to the last war. The second is a brand new long-range TIE. This pair of ships do not head for the Outer Rim. Instead, they head for picturesque Naboo. Their destination is a secret temple in a wooded corner of the rural lake country. The ships land under cover of nightfall and three passengers disembark. Out from the old shuttle comes the galaxy's towering Sith Emperor holding hands with his wife. From the TIE cockpit jumps down their young son. Then the trio—mother and father in matching hooded black cloaks and the teenaged son in a version of his father's uniform—enter the temple's gloom. It is a stately procession through a twisted maze of corridors with the current Skywalker patriarch Sith Master in the lead. They continue deeper and deeper into this very sacred, very secret Dark place.

Finally, they arrive at the ritual chamber. The room is empty save for the white stone table that serves as an altar. Above it is a high vaulted ceiling crowned with an oculus opening to the outside. Starlight and light from Naboo's single moon stream in to blanket the altar, making it almost appear to glow. Otherwise, the chamber is unlit, its corners shrouded in gloom. This is a place stark in its simplicity and eerily beautiful too.

For ages, different Sith have come to the ritual chamber. The things done here always matter and the people present matter too. Tonight these walls that have borne witness to so much will see more history unfold, for a new Apprentice will pledge his loyalty and a marriage will be confirmed. That the Apprentice is a son making his promise to his Sith lord father is unprecedented. But that a Jedi will be the bride to a Sith Master is not. It was shocking in the initial union many years ago, but now it seems plenty appropriate. So many of the old ways are falling aside as the traditions of the Force evolve and change. What was unthinkable once is possible now that the distinctions between Light and Dark are blurred.

The young man sinks down to one knee to recite the words spoken over and over for a millennium. Usually by an Apprentice to his Master, but tonight between father and son. The boy is quite young for this sort of thing. Much more child than man currently. And that too breaks from the custom of the past.

His voice is still high as he says the words: "I pledge myself to your teachings and to the ways of the Sith."

The Master nods his satisfaction. "Arise, Apprentice. A powerful Sith you will become." The older priest speaks the customary response to the new initiate but then things begin to deviate some. "Apprentice, you are a Chosen One, capable of all things in the Force. Tonight, you begin to train in Darkness, but in time you will be called to the Light. And, hopefully, called to us and to balance." The Master now hands his Apprentice back his sword taken many weeks ago. Luke Skywalker's green Jedi saber passes from one gloved mechanical hand to another. And that too breaks with tradition. "This family is now the ultimate power in the universe," the Master says with much pride. "We are strongest together. Remember that, Apprentice. Break with me or break with your mother, and you will forfeit power, young Sith."

The boy nods and turns to his mother. She steps forward to cup his face with her hands. "May the Force be with you," she blesses him with a kiss of peace on both cheeks.

"What is thy bidding, my Master?" The boy now makes the expected solicitation of the second Sith to the first.

"Your work here is done, Apprentice. Return to the palace and wait for us."

"Yes, Master."

When the Apprentice withdraws, the temple is locked tight with the Force to shut out curious eyes. For the time has come for the Sith Master and his Jedi wife to complete an ancient ritual of their own. But first the Sith reaches to slide back the hood of the woman's cloak. Then he unbuckles its clasp. With a little encouragement, the heavy black velvet falls with a whisper to the ground. Beneath it, the woman wears the traditional sheer white bridal gown. Her only slightly obscured naked body is a promise of what is to come.

These lovers' marriage vows have already been spoken, but the marriage mark has yet to be made. And so the Sith now produces a small ornate vibroblade. It is an heirloom of sorts belonging first to his own Master. Long ago, it slashed the hand of another Jedi woman on this same spot.

"I love you," declares the Sith without any reservations. "This is the last time I will ever hurt you," he vows. The Jedi woman knows him well enough not to believe that, but he means it in the moment and she smiles gamely all the same. "Ready?" he whispers and she nods. Then he makes the wide and deep slash. Despite her best intentions, the woman whimpers at the cut.

Now, it is his turn. "I love you," the woman declares softly. It's fittingly Jedi-like how this is a bold, hard thing for the woman to say. But it's getting easier the more she says it. Hopefully, it will be effortless one day. "Ready?" she asks in a small voice. "I've been ready for years," comes his reply. The woman screws up her face as she nervously scratches her mark.

It is done. They clasp their left hands and each holds tight. The pressure helps to dull the pain and to stem the bleeding too. But like everything in this age-old ritual, their joined hands have a meaning of their own. For as their blood intermingles, now his hurts are hers and her hurts are his. In the tradition of Darkness, betrayal is a way of life for all except husband and wife. Marriage is the only forever bond of loyalty that a Sith will ever make.

With blood having been spilled, now the time for passion has come. The lusty Sith bends to kiss his bride. Then he leads her by the hand to the ancient altar where he will join his body with hers. Here is where by custom a Dark priest unveils his bride by rending her gossamer dress in two. Here is where Sith lovers consummate their bond beneath the moonlight with dripping, bloody hands. And now the lovers are united, their destinies intertwined, joined together forever in the Force.

Like the apprenticeship pledge tonight, the marriage ritual too has deviated some from the traditional script. But that will be the way of this family going forward as they intentionally blend the old with the new. The Chosen Ones have been Light and they have been Dark, and now they are even in-between. The only thing certain is that they will change and the fate of the galaxy will follow. The Skywalkers are the first family of the Force and their influence cannot be denied. And when they are determined, as they are now, to usher in a new age of change, woe be to anyone who stands in their way. For the Force is with them, always. These imperfect people live outsized, extraordinary lives. The consequence for themselves and others has been much war, many deaths, and heartbreaking regrets. But their ambition is perhaps the rival trait to their Force and so the Skywalkers and their story will go on.

THE END


	45. Chapter 45--Story Notes

Hello and thanks for reading this long tale. I hope you enjoyed it. And who says blueenvelopes never writes a happy ending?

When I set out to write _Ghosts of the Past_ , Rey and Kylo were always supposed to end up together. But as the story progressed, it just didn't feel right. _Ghosts_ ballooned to a scale that made it impossible to tie things up nicely and still feel believable to the characters I had written. And so that story ends with our lovers heading in opposite directions and the Skywalker mess of conflict and lies beginning again for a new generation. But even before I had _Ghosts_ finished, I already had the beginnings of _The Chosen One_ written out. I was determined that my lovers were going to get together eventually.

But first, I wanted a significant time gap. I wanted Rey to find her way for a bit on her own. We meet her as a teenager in _Ghosts of the Past_ but we meet her again here as a woman grown. She is both different, but very much the same. But much more Kylo's equal than before. During the time between the stories, Rey becomes many of the things that Kylo and Snoke believe she will, just without Kylo.

The time gap between stories was also intended to give Kylo time to achieve and to struggle. To evolve as a leader and as a man. In many ways, he is as emotionally stunted as Rey, but of course he doesn't see it that way. And, as usual, he is his own worst enemy (Rey calls him on that at the end of _Ghosts of the Past_ ). He is both the victim in his own mind and the hero of his own tale. The man is a narcissist in many respects. Everything is first and foremost always about him.

When these two finally get together, it is a mix of destiny and conscious compromise. And that last bit is very adult. I married comparatively young nowadays in some people's view and my husband and I have an age difference similar to Reylo. That age difference matters less now than it did before. And I think that's the case with our lovers too. The difference in confidence and experience between 20 year old scavenger Rey and 30 year old Sith conquerer Kylo is considerable. Say all you will about how powerful Rey is in the Force, but remember that Force power does not make you wise nor happy nor confident. It does not take away your problems or balm your insecurities. I think a lot of people fail to see that the Force is not a panacea. When we rejoin our lovers in their middle years in _Ghosts,_ the consequences of the age difference have lessened considerably. Rey and Kylo are on much more equal footing. That matters in a relationship.

Confronting the past is a huge overarching theme of this story, as with _Ghosts of the Past_. When _The Chosen One_ begins, Kylo, Rey and the galaxy have changed considerably. The war is over and the Resistance-First Order roles are now reversed, with Kylo trying to keep aggressive, war seeking revolutionary elements at bay. ("Terrorists" in his mind, since one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist). Yes, Sith Kylo wants to hold onto his power but he also wants the stability and order he fought for to remain in place. Kylo spends much of _The Chosen One_ coming to grips with the legacy of his past brutality-what it means for the galaxy and for he and Rey personally. Whether it's apologizing for the Starkiller, addressing missing persons, or urging Rey to continue the Jedi tradition that died with his uncle, Kylo spends a lot of time owning up to the consequences of his actions.

From the very beginning of _Ghosts_ , Kylo is a man haunted by history who wants to find a way to a better future. But he keeps going about it the wrong way and making false assumptions. Just because his son Titus isn't a Jedi doesn't mean he will be his father's ally. The Skywalker drama was always much more than just the Force and politics, but Kylo misses that point entirely. The Skywalker dysfunction is as much the fractured families, the life of lies, the lack of parenting, the extreme personalities, and the persistent violence, as it is the Force. And, unfortunately, Rey and Kylo both unwittingly present much of that same unhappiness to their son Titus. Misguided Kylo is convinced that since he and his son are both on the Dark Side, then things will turn out fine. Except the Skywalkers were on the same side once before (the Light Side of Leia, Luke and Ben/Kylo) and that didn't stop Kylo from flipping Sith. Kylo also misses the point that the Dark Side historically hasn't taught Masters and Apprentices to love one another. Kylo and Snoke are the outliers in Sith history in this respect. So naturally, angry Dark Side obsessed Titus is going to attempt to kill his father. Still, Kylo's character grows and evolves a great deal in this story. Halfway through _The Chosen One_ in the Empire Day scene, Rey accuses Kylo of being the worse husband and father ever. You can see for yourself at the ending how far Kylo has come.

Rey confronts the past in _The Chosen One_ too. Her time in a jail cell is an ugly and prolonged reckoning with a very hurt, angry Sith. It is a bit of a realization for Rey to understand that she isn't the only victim in their relationship. But even as she and Kylo start taking baby steps forward, the past keeps rearing its head in the form of the Biggs family. Rey's lies-however understandable-have ruined others' lives. We realize how spectacularly so at the end. And now Rey's repeat of that standard "who's your daddy/granddaddy" Skywalker lie has the predictable tragic result. The Lars family and Ben Kenobi did this to Luke. Leia in turn does it to Kylo. And Rey does it to Titus. It's like Death Stars, people-this is SW and some things never change.

The other themes of this story: parenthood, compromise and family are very current in my life. I am old enough now to have seen marriages fail, jobs go badly, and people sort of flounder in life. That really gives me perspective, especially as a parent. More and more, I value coping skills and pragmatism over raw brains and brilliant talent. I'm a fan of people who can get shit done and deal with life as it comes. I like to think there is some of this in my story: high-strung, hard to please Force-strong Kylo is habitually depressed while chill Nestor Ren (the "everyman" leader of the First Order) leads a much more normal, happy life.

Kylo is Anakin again in this story, the same as he was in _Ghosts of the Past_. Kylo starts this story modeled after how I perceive Vader to be during the original trilogy: a man terribly alone who often just goes through the motions. His heart isn't in much of anything and he achieved young much of what he set out professionally to achieve. Like Vader, Kylo finds a secret son who rekindles all sorts of lost ambitions and who dredges up a very painful past. The difference here is that, unlike Vader, Kylo also finds his Padme alive.

Like Vader, Kylo is a man who wants to do the right thing and mostly thinks that he is. Kylo is the hero in his own mind. I asked myself: what would Vader have been like if he were emperor instead of Palpatine and he had the freedom to change? Would he have made things a little more Light? If my math is right, Vader in the original trilogy is about the age of Kylo in this fic-mid forties. That's not old (I hope!). Once I turned thirty I stopped thinking forty is old and my husband is older so I've seen what forty looks like. Forty is very adult, full of responsibilities. But it's also an age when in real life you can have a seat at the table to make a real influence. Because, let's face it, in most circumstances you don't get to run things at thirty. And that's probably a good thing. I challenge you to find a C-suite outside of Silicon Valley that has 30 year olds in it.

This story and its predecessor are full of intentional ambiguities and contradictions, like real life. The war is bitter and its moral high ground depends on your point of view. My Sith are ruthless but are they evil? Well, you decide. Kylo certainly doesn't think so-my antihero thinks he is the hero all along. Plus, bad people can do good things and have redeeming qualities. But how much of that does it take to make them no longer bad people? In a galaxy full of black and white, my stories consistently search out the grey. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys depends on your point of view. I like to subvert the morality tale of Star Wars because I think it makes for a deeper, richer story and because I think that grounds it in reality. The political and personal conflicts in my SW world are complicated, just like conflicts in real life.

I also like to mix up the characters in ways that can upend people's expectations. Snoke is the big bad guy who's just using Kylo, right? Well, not in _Ghosts_. I really enjoyed writing a relationship between Kylo and Snoke that was more like father and son (some of that aspect appears in _Fulcrum_ also). In this story, Kylo mourns his lost Master and Snoke continues to exert a meaningful influence long after he is gone.

A lot of stories have the hero rejecting their role. Rey essentially does that over and over again in _Ghosts_. Whether she is rejecting Luke Skywalker or running from Kylo, Rey is rejecting her role as change agent time and again. Even running home to Jakku when she can. In the latter part of _Ghosts of the Past_ , Kylo is slaughtering people left and right as Rey makes only halfhearted protests. She feels a bit powerless vis-a-vis Kylo and I think she is comfortable in her own position of safety. She doesn't like what is going on around her, but she doesn't intervene much to stop it. And that's a bit of her Jakku survivor mentality coming out. It's far easier and safer not to get involved. But, of course, that festering conflict is what keeps Rey from committing to Kylo and leads to her fleeing. In _Ghosts_ , Rey has real influence over Kylo but she doesn't assert it outside the context of her peace negotiations. By the time we get to _The Chosen One_ , Rey doesn't have to assert her influence-Kylo is outright offering it to her. _The Chosen One_ tells the story of Rey overcoming her personal insecurities and conflicts with Kylo to ultimately accept her place in the universe. She becomes the Empress who wields real influence and she takes up the challenge to learn the Light. She also awakens the Light in Kylo and that kindles the spark for change—both for him and for the empire.

Rey's motivating factor all along is to help Titus. We learn that much of Rey's personal growth through her marriage to Cade Biggs was for self-preservation and to help Titus. And once Rey's ruse is discovered, Rey is motivated by Titus to make the best of a difficult situation and to be a role model in the Force. Kylo too is motivated by his son. For himself and for his son, he wants to be less Dark. And to hold onto his power, he realizes that he needs his empire to reform. Kylo might go about the parenting thing all wrong, but his intentions—though warped—are still good. But in the end, they blow up in his face.

Titus ultimately brings Rey and Kylo together in a sense. Kylo is nuts for his Skywalker clan because he is all about power and the Skywalkers are power incarnate. Plus he wants a mini-me apprentice. Rey is devoted to her son and the rest of her Biggs family as her way of recreating what she herself never had as a child. That shared concern for Titus combined with Kylo and Rey's past history and the Force is what rekindles the Reylo relationship and moves it forward. If _Ghosts of the Past_ is a story about the price of the First Order bringing peace to the galaxy, then _The Chosen One_ is a story that addresses the process of bringing peace to the Skywalkers.

The Chosen One trope is everywhere in this fic. The prophecy is vague and its meaning depends on your understanding of the Force. Did Anakin balance the Force? We thought he did after episode 6. But now, we know not. Or maybe he did, but not permanently. I guess we'll find out in the sequel trilogy. In my AU, the Chosen Ones are the Skywalkers—the family conceived in the Force to being balance. They each have the potential to do it but-here's the catch-there is no guarantee. Darth Plagueis (a subversive iconoclast Sith if there ever was one) discovered ideas of balance that he himself could not implement. He plans for his apprentice to do it instead. But when we meet Kylo in this story, he has grown very Dark. Kylo thinks that he, like his uncle and grandfather, has missed his chance to balance the Force. That means Titus will do it, right? After all, Titus is born of Dark and Light and he's the one who brings a Sith (Kylo) and a Jedi wannabe (Rey) together, right? But that turns out to be wrong. Kylo is the Chosen One after all.

When Rey reappears in Kylo's life with Titus, she brings Light and she reawakens the dream of balance. That goal rekindles Kylo's interest in the Light and has him task Rey will learning all the Jedi holochrons. Kylo thinks he is just a passive bystander watching Rey heal and seeing her attempt to teach Titus to open Jedi holochrons, but really he is absorbing it all too. As the story proceeds, the Light leaves its mark. Kylo is called to the Light and he thinks that means he is being drawn to Rey. But he is also being drawn to reform. By the end of the story, Kylo is a man who wants to be less Dark and he wants his Empire to be less Dark-he is a man poised for change. But when he gets it, it's an utter surprise. All the signs were there all along. Plagueis knew it too-his dying words to Kylo in _Ghosts_ are "you were the one I was waiting for" before he tells Kylo to find Rey and find balance. And that is ultimately what happens.

Oftentimes, my stories have conflicts or scenes inspired by opera. Not this one. _The Chosen One_ comes straight out of real life. Much of what I write comes from my own experience and from my observations of the world around me. The main relationships in this story: cold asshole Kylo (at the beginning) and Rey, fucked up but oddly well intentioned Sith daddy Kylo and son Titus, much loved but difficult child Titus and mother Rey, and Cade Biggs and Rey are each modeled after relationships I know in real life. Because, let's face it, dysfunction is everywhere even in loving relationships. Families, quite frankly, can be hard. Cesi Flick is an amalgamation of women I know. Nestor Flick has some similarities to a real guy too.

I toyed with a lot of different resolutions for this tale. Some endings had Kylo and Rey choosing between each other and their son. Other endings had them sacrificing the Empire for their son. But I really wanted my lovers to end up together and Kylo wouldn't be Kylo without his lust for power. And so the story resolves nicely for our lovers but not for Titus. And, frankly, that's life. Rarely are things resolved in a way that ties everything up neatly. Plus, Titus is thirteen and he has plenty of time to grow, mature and change. In some ways, the fight between Kylo and Titus is the wakeup call that Kylo needs to take more interest in his son beyond just the Force.

It's pretty typical for stories to follow ordinary people through extraordinary circumstances as they become heroes. I like to do the reverse and show extraordinary people (Kylo and Rey who each lead very extreme lives) in ordinary circumstances. In many respects, it's just as revealing of their character. That's why I write Kylo Ren sitting on bleachers at a soccer game and Rey going to parent teacher conferences. It's why I write Sith family breakfast and Rey going shopping with Cesi.

I like to write characters who confront life as we do—without knowing what to expect. They try to make good decisions in the moment, but that's not always how it turns out. (And in SW, good intentions can lead characters to do bad things.). That's why my characters often worry about things or plan for things that never happen. It's not always foreshadowing, sometimes it's just my character worrying. But then again . . . sometimes it is foreshadowing. Things don't always turn out like my characters expect and sometimes that is good and sometimes it's not. Often, it's different and they muddle through. There are big turning points, ironies and plot twists in my story (as there are in real life) but the way my characters get there is often through incremental decisions that lead to a climax. It's a series of decisions by them and by others that build to the big moment. Hopefully, that means that the story unfolds logically even if it is not always predictable. I think of my stories as being more thematically driven than plot driven, but I do strive to have an interesting plot.

I try to create real characters who have more than just goals and motivations, they have opinions and biases, flaws and strengths. A lot of people seem to get hung up on what they want a character to be in order to achieve some social goal or agenda. If I see another commentary about how Rey is a strong woman I will roll my eyes. Yes, she is strong in the sense that she has the Force and she has a strong personality and she can fight. But in many of the ways that truly matter in life, Rey is very weak. She is the lowest of a low social class (scavenger on an Outer Rim world). She lacks education and social refinement when we meet her. She has no family and no connections. That doesn't get you far in life anywhere. She lives by her wits and her mechanical skills, but once you take her out of an environment

where those things matter, she flounders a bit (see most of _Ghosts of the Past_ ). Kylo, our power obsessed Sith, thinks she is very powerful due to her Force. But in _Ghosts_ he misses all the ways that she is weak (Jakku!) and how he is pushing her for too much, too soon.

What makes a strong female character? Can she be strong and still be weak relative to something or somebody? Does it matter that a female character owes some of her position or strength to a male character? Does it make her power less important? Does it matter if she lacks power in her own right but has access to power? Do you have to fight (or be in opposition to something or someone) to be strong? Can strong female characters have fears and insecurities? I have opinions on all of these questions and they are scattered among my various depictions of Rey and other female characters.

My real life has been stressful lately. Damage from a hurricane has meant some unexpected remodeling projects. (Ironically the beach house on the coast where much of _Ghosts_ and the beginning of this story were written was completely fine. It was the historic house in town that was damaged). Some of this story was typed on my phone in the ICU for my dying mother in law. My oldest son is flunking the first grade currently. I could go on . . . I write for an escape from the everyday, so lately I have been rambling at the keyboard a lot. You can see that in the chapter lengths that have mushroomed of late. 8,000+ word chapters are probably tedious to read, so thank you for plodding through them. If I had more time, I would have edited them down. I like chapters to be 3500-5000 words, but somehow that didn't work for this story. I didn't commit the time to edit them down.

Thanks again for reading! I value my readers and their comments—both good and bad. I am continually impressed by hearing what readers think.


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